Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday expressed concern over the translocation of three banyan trees at Porvorim after the petitioners pointed out that the manner in which it has been done is shoddy and crude.
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The transplantation agency, Doctor Trees, had translocated three trees so far i.e. two Alstonias Scholaris and a Peepal tree.
Senior counsel, Norma Alvares, appearing for the petitioner Aaron Victor E Fernandes pointed out that the trees have been hacked to their stump and have been planted in low-lying areas, which is in the command area of the Tillari Irrigation Project and which is likely to cause water logging and will be a hindrance for the survival of the trees.
It was also pointed out that the Hyderabad-based agency has put the onus on the State government for watering and post-care maintenance of the trees. “The agency should undertake the maintenance of trees at least till the end of the next monsoon,” Adv Alvares submitted.
A division bench of Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita P Mehta also expressed concern over mud from the road project that had been dumped around the transplanted trees. The State government admitted that this was a lapse and would get to the bottom of it.
The division bench wanted to know whether the Doctor Trees earmarked the sites for transplantation to which the agency replied that it was the government authority that identified the site. “Isn’t it your responsibility to see if the site is ideal for transplantation?” Justice Karnik questioned the Doctor Trees.
The petitioners in the meantime took a tree transplantation expert to the site on Tuesday, who opined that the job was shoddy and it would be hard for the trees to survive.
Senior Advocate Alvares submitted that the remaining three banyan trees should not be relocated unless an ideal site is found. She further said that the methodology prescribed by the tree agency themselves was not being followed as the transplantations were being done in a haste. She brought to the Court’s attention the guidelines prescribed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), New Delhi that requires a three-month preparation for transplantation of trees.
The government and the agency, however, informed the Court that the banyan tree situated near Damian De Goa, Porvorim would be translocated on Tuesday night as the pruning of branches werecompleted.
The High Court has now asked for a report from the tree agency along with photographs and videos of their transplantation methodology. The Court has also asked the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), who had recommended translocation of six trees, to remain present during the hearing on Wednesday, December 18.
The tree agency was charging Rs 12 lakh for transplanting six trees.
