Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil got furious on Monday after getting to know that some miscreants had set fire to trees on Mhatoba Hill in Kothrud.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader then directed the forest department to take measures so that such incidents do not occur in the future.
He has also called a meeting at the forest department headquarters on January 13, where a discussion will be held in detail on the measures for the safety of trees.
According to the information received, on the occasion of his 65th birthday, Patil had planted trees, including medicinal plants, on Mhatoba Hill, Pashan Hill and Mahatma Hill. Last week, some miscreants came to Mhatoba hill and tried to set fire to it and destroy it.
Chief Conservator of Forests Manoj Barbole informed Patil about the incident. Patil asked what measures have been taken to prevent such incidents from happening. To this, the officials explained to Patil that due to lack of manpower, there is a limit to controlling such incidents. Patil then assured that manpower would be provided through public participation.
Several suggestions were made for improving security, including erecting watchtowers for the safety of trees, installing solar-powered street lights in the Mhatoba temple area to prevent incidents at night, increasing manpower for tree maintenance and weed removal, implementing camp activities for environmental conservation, controlling cattle grazing on hills and increasing forest department patrols in the entire area during afternoon and evening hours.
