Bhayandar: Always in the news, mostly for wrong reasons, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) yet again stands exposed for its glaring insensitivity towards encouraging and protecting the diminishing green cover of the twin-city.
Responding positively to its inclusion in the list of cities selected for the coveted 'AMRUTvan', a green zone development project launched by the central government authorities, the civic administration chalked out an elaborate programme to embark on the much hyped green mission.
Subsequently, several reserved plots across the twin-city were identified and earmarked to promote greenery on the virtue of a massive tree plantation drive which was christened as Van-Mahotsav.
On the virtue of funds provided by the central and state government authorities, the MBMC claims to have planted thousands of saplings under the aegis of its Tree Authority (TA).
Barely, two year later, a large number of saplings which were planted at one of the designated locations in the Ram Nagar area of Mira Road, have either failed to survive or are on the verge of dying, thus reducing the much hyped tree plantation drive into a mere photo-op moment defeating the real purpose of increasing the green cover which had been undertaken by pumping government funds amounting cores.
While locals blamed civic apathy and blind eye turned by elected representatives as the reason for the sorry situation, garden superintendent Hansraj Meshram claimed that all necessary care was being taken to maintain and preserve the green cover. It has been alleged that the trees were dying owing to lack of manure, proper watering and regular monitoring by the civic administration which is now under the scanner for blatant contravention of its own tree laws.
