Across the country there is a massacre going on of trees. Giving any kind of excuse trees are being cut, left, right and centre. From 91 trees slated for the axe for the East-West Metro in Kolkata; to random trees being cut in Rabindra Sarobar, the green zone in South Kolkata. In the name of development, small or big, trees are at the first line of attack. Be it for street widening or for any reason a tree will surely fall. It is not only in Kolkata that this is happening but across the country in every town and city.
Cut to Mumbai and you will find the contractors for the construction of various development projects in the city be it the Metro mainly and any other are the first to raise the axe against trees. In this they show no scruples and are adept at bending and/or breaking rules, even BMC decisions and the judgments of the courts. For the Metro some 400-odd trees were allowed to be cut but activists there have found that close to double some 700-odd trees were felled. Not only that in commitments made by construction authorities to the courts about planting of new saplings close to the number of trees cut, it was found that in many cases no action was taken to plant new saplings even though 1-2 years had passed. There have also been more than 1400 incidents since this year’s rains started in June of trees or branches falling out of which there have been 40- odd human fatalities apart from other injuries to people and destruction of public and private property like cars parked in the street etc. The reason for this is that if you go to Mumbai and walk around you will see that the concrete pavers used for pavements or concreting is done right up to the trunk of the tree. Thus over time with lack of water and nourishment the tree starts to weaken and progressively die. So by natural circumstance it falls and then it hurts or kills people and damages property. Similarly when it comes to the trimming of trees, it is done in a lopsided manner and only the portion of the tree that is assumed to be dangerous is trimmed leaving the tree unbalanced. This leads to the tree growing in a lopsided manner and again poover time it collapses on the side which is heavier. In both the instances cited above the complete lack of supervision by engineers and leaving the work to illiterate or semi-skilled labour is what is at the crux of the issue. If the work is properly supervised then there will be be less of tree falls and with the labour being properly trained, we can at the least expect to have better times ahead. When it comes with dealing trees that grow by the roadside, why the PWD cannot have a standard to be applied across India that a 1-meter radius should be ensured around each tree so that the tree can continue to flourish is something that one cannot understand. Also for trees in the middle if the road why they cannot build a verge for it or have the road pass around it like in a traffic island is something that is beyond comprehension.
In Goa where we live, the story is the same with some irony being thrown into the issue for good measure. About a year ago, the coconut tree that is represented in every ad or brochure that the government puts out was declared a Grass and the protection for its cutting was withdrawn. The idea behind this was to demean this tree of which every single portion is of use to mankind and more so Goans to the status of a grass so that you could cut it randomly just like mowing the grass on your front lawn! The citizens of the State were up in arms seeking restoration of the protection of the coconut tree. Thankfully with the new government led by Manohar Parrikar that has come to power, it has not only restored the status of the coconut tree and the protection given to it but raised it to the level of the State Tree. Now the last part was not required but it is a case of overdoing something when you have made a mistake. But elevating coconut tree to State Tree has dislodged another tree. This has set the cat among the pigeons among the tree lovers questioning the displacing etc. but all this one would believe will end with both trees getting the same status to satisfy the rival lobbies. Like they say in democracy everyone gets to be heard. Other than this the situation about tree cutting is the same as enumerated above with the road widening and 4-laning of National Highways that crisscross this small State taking its toll on the trees and green cover.
In all this sometimes the Forest Ministry and Depts., both Central as well as State, are complicit in cutting of trees. Thus when protectors turn killers the harm is more grievous and irreparable. As one knows and there is no need to recount here, the reason why this is done is corruption both of the kind like for promotions etc. and in normal material terms. Since when these people from the Forest Dept. are brought in as experts, they give strange logic. Like the tree the older it gets the roots go deeper into the ground and there is no need to leave any space around the tree trunk and if the tree is old like 40-60 years there is no harm in cutting it! To the latter logic then the government should launch a program to kill all those humans who are older than 60 years so that the younger are better served! Another thing that they claim is more saplings will be planted than the number of trees being cut but there is no guarantee that first, the saplings will be planted as the Mumbai Metro has seen inspite of a commitment given to the High Court and whether these will grow to trees like who will tend them, protect them from stray cattle eating them etc. etc. Then the Forest Dept. is prone to quote more often than not that the forest cover in the State and/or country is going up. Now this figure is not verifiable by any independent agency and whatever they say goes.
Thus if we are at all serious in this country about protecting trees and our green cover then our laws should be recast and stringent punishment given for any unauthorised tree cutting and damage to green cover. All trees should be treated as sacred as our scriptures have instituted and they should be cut in absolutely necessary and unavoidable circumstances.
