RTI Happenings: Trees being cut but none planted, reveals RTI

[Sajib Nandi]

Reported by Reetika Subramanian in Hindustantimes.com on August 08, 2012
Trees being cut but none planted, reveals RTI - Hindustan Times

Over the past two months, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allowed the felling of more than 1,500 trees. However, it has not taken steps to compensate for the loss of green cover by planting other trees.

Even as the civic body’s Tree Authority backs developmental projects by allowing trees obstructing work to be cut, questions have been raised about the accountability of the transplantation assurances. “The city’s tree-management policy is inclined towards urban development rather than the survival of trees,” said Avinash Kubal, deputy director, Maharashtra Nature Park.

An example of this is the massive tree-cutting permissions granted to construction giant Oberoi Realty in Goregaon (East). According to data received in a Right To Information (RTI) application the Tree Authority had granted permission to cut 485 trees on the same plot owned by Oberoi Group between June 2003 and January 2011. The application filed by Raghunath Kothari, a Goregaon resident, also states that besides replanting some of the cut trees, 145 trees had to be transplanted by the end of 2011. “There is no data available on the location and number of trees that have been transplanted during the course of this project,” said Kothari. Last week, the tree authority gave permission to uproot another 481 trees, while assurances were made that trees would be transplanted to plots in Aarey Colony, University campus and Home Guards ground in Ghatkopar (West).

Defending the civic body’s stand, Suhas Karwande, deputy municipal commissioner (gardens) said: “The company has promised to submit details on the transplanted trees.”

A press statement issued by Oberoi Realty on Tuesday said that they had “planted approximately 1800 new trees and transplanted over 275 trees” over the past 10 years. “We started our Goregaon development in 2002, where we had permissions to cut 774 and transplant about 260 trees over a period of 10 years,” the company said. “We have records of every tree that has been removed and transplanted.”

[akhilesh yadav]

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National Highway Authority of India cuts down trees at will, but forgets to plant

Reported by K.A.Shaji in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on August12, 2012
National Highway Authority of India cuts down trees at will, but forgets to plant - The Times of India

COIMBATORE: The law says that any agency that cuts down trees as part of developmental works must plant thrice its number to compensate the loss. However, an RTI application filed by MDMK district secretary, VEaswaran, regarding the number of trees planted in lieu of the trees felled for road widening works in Coimbatore district by the National Highway Authority of India's (NHAI) has revealed some stunning information.

NHAI zonal head, Palanivel, in his reply to the RTI query has said that the agency did not plant a single tree in lieu of about 951 trees the highways authority axed in the past five years as part of road widening works. The cash gained from the sale of the timber gained from the tree-felling drive -- Rs 37,21,950 -- was added to the NHAI coffers. Not a paisa allotted for planting new trees. Among the 951 trees felled in the past five years, 139 were axed only in the last 12 months.

As per Palanivel's reply, 7,177 huge trees now stand on both sides of the two national highways that pass through the district. The NH stretch in Coimbatore is 105.4 km long.
"It is shameful that despite the massive tree felling, not a single tree has been planted by the NHAI in these years. Also, there were no officials entrusted with the task of protecting the trees that were supposed to be planted,'' said Easwaran.

According to Easwaran, every government authority is bound to plant three times more the number of trees felled as part of road construction or widening. "Gujarat and Mumbai high courts have given clear verdicts in the past directing NHAI I this regard. If that is applicable, NHA should have spent Rs1,12,00,000 to plant trees in Coimbatore district. We are planning to organise green activists and like-minded groups to put pressure on NHAI to follow the law," added Easwaran.

When contacted, environmental activist S Jayachandran said it was shocking information. "All the organizations that fell trees claim to be planting more of them to compensate the loss. NHAI has also pretended so far that it was planting trees,'' he added.

Coimbatore district has witnessed large-scale tree felling in the name of road widening works in the recent years. Trees on main city roads like Mettupalayam Road and Avinashi Road have been chopped and now efforts are on to cut down trees on Maruthamalai Road. Trees on Siruvani Road have also been marked for felling as part of road widening. Apart from NHAI, thestate highways department and the city corporation too have cut down trees for various works.