Mumbai: The BMC claimed to have pruned 22,334 large and potentially hazardous tree branches till now. However, the activists argue that contractual labour is not trained so all trees and their branches are trimmed in the same manner, which can be harmful for the trees. Makarand Narwekar, former BJP corporator, in his letter written to civic authorities has demanded draft guidelines on tree pruning and appointed a panel of experts including arborists. Meanwhile, the BMC has also sent notices to 4,909 societies to scientifically prune trees before monsoon.
The Number of Trees Targeted In Tree Pruning Raises Concerns
The civic body has targeted 1.13 lakh trees on roads by June 7. During the pruning activities, 433 dead or infested trees were identified, while 386 of these trees have been removed so far. The contractual labourers appointed by the garden department carry out the trimming of trees along the side of roads in Mumbai. While, the responsibility for caring for trees in housing societies, government and semi-government organisations, and private spaces falls on the respective owners or users. Stalin Dayanand, an environment activist said.
"The BMC now has an environment department of its own, they also have funds to appoint a full-time arborist. Unfortunately, tree pruning activities are carried out by contractual labourers who do not have a clue in which manner the trees should be trimmed. So they carry out pruning activities in the same standard manner for different types of trees. But when the pruning is not scientific, it will prove detrimental to tree health. The civic body should have proper guidelines and a panel of experts to suggest pruning trees." , he continued.
Narwekar's Letter To BMC
Narwekar in his letter to the BMC said, "These notices are unlikely to yield visible and concrete results in the absence of empanelment of arborists, tree pruning agencies or experts. The BMC itself carries out the tree pruning based on just visual inspection of trees. Then, how can it expect the citizens to carry out tree pruning scientifically? It has been revealed in the past that the trees have been cut under the garb of tree pruning, which is a serious cause of concern."
He further said, “The BMC must empanel experts in tree pruning on the lines of empanelment of agencies for fire audits in housing societies. That will enable the housing societies to do tree pruning scientifically. Issuing notices to housing societies for tree trimming holds them accountable, but doesn’t ensure scientific pruning, which is important to avoid fatal tree fall incidents in the city."
