The Nagpur Municipal Corporation, which is supposed to be the custodian of the city's green cover, uprooted a 50-year old full grown tamarind tree located near Vidhan Bhavan a few days back. This was done to install a statue of Gond King Bakht Buland Shah, who formed Nagpur city in the year 1702. The proposed location is just a stone's throw away from NMC's Civil Lines headquarters.
Sources said that the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 categorically defines what constitutes felling. It includes burning or cutting or in any way damaging a tree. Even if the tree is on private premises, it cannot be hacked without prior permission of the tree officer, that is, the garden superintendent of the NMC. Even government bodies require permission from the tree officer for cutting or pruning trees for any purpose within the city limits.
"However, in this particular case, the civic body, which is already failing short in its efforts to maintain city's green cover, has felled such a huge tree just for installation of a statute," a source said.
Mayor Archana Dehankar who, along with former mayor Maya Iwnate. recently visited the site where the statue would be installed, told TOI, "NMC officials have got all permissions from authorities required to install the statue, including the collector office and police department." Asked why NMC has uprooted such a huge tamarind tree for a statue, she said, "After visiting the spot, I too opposed the idea of felling the tree and instead install the statue somewhere else. However, officials said that the same spot was approved after a lot of effort."
NMC development engineer Rahul Warke shifted the onus to the garden department, saying that NMC tree authority (headed by the then municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta) had permitted to remove tamarind tree for installation of the statue and had asked NMC to plant five saplings to compensate the felling of the tree. However, he could not explain why the tree was uprooted only to install a statue.
An NMC garden department official, who did not want to be named, admitted that the tamarind tree was almost 50 years old but was 'important, valuable and necessary for the area near Vidhan Bhavan.' "It had provided shade to many, especially in summer, and shelter for visitors of Meetha Neem Durgah. The tree was priceless and should not have been removed. It was only because of political and senior officials pressure that we removed it," the official added.
Sources said that the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 categorically defines what constitutes felling. It includes burning or cutting or in any way damaging a tree. Even if the tree is on private premises, it cannot be hacked without prior permission of the tree officer, that is, the garden superintendent of the NMC. Even government bodies require permission from the tree officer for cutting or pruning trees for any purpose within the city limits.
"However, in this particular case, the civic body, which is already failing short in its efforts to maintain city's green cover, has felled such a huge tree just for installation of a statute," a source said.
Mayor Archana Dehankar who, along with former mayor Maya Iwnate. recently visited the site where the statue would be installed, told TOI, "NMC officials have got all permissions from authorities required to install the statue, including the collector office and police department." Asked why NMC has uprooted such a huge tamarind tree for a statue, she said, "After visiting the spot, I too opposed the idea of felling the tree and instead install the statue somewhere else. However, officials said that the same spot was approved after a lot of effort."
NMC development engineer Rahul Warke shifted the onus to the garden department, saying that NMC tree authority (headed by the then municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta) had permitted to remove tamarind tree for installation of the statue and had asked NMC to plant five saplings to compensate the felling of the tree. However, he could not explain why the tree was uprooted only to install a statue.
An NMC garden department official, who did not want to be named, admitted that the tamarind tree was almost 50 years old but was 'important, valuable and necessary for the area near Vidhan Bhavan.' "It had provided shade to many, especially in summer, and shelter for visitors of Meetha Neem Durgah. The tree was priceless and should not have been removed. It was only because of political and senior officials pressure that we removed it," the official added.
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