Making
Hyderabad Green-Abad
Shocked
by the green murders, a number of tree lovers have coalesced into an informal
group. Representatives of many non governmental organisations (NGOs) are part of
this Green-Abad group that seeks to convert Hyderabad into a green haven.
Mulling over what can be done for this purpose, members decided to meet forest
officials to understand their perspective on this matter. Forest officials say
that over 300 proposals for tree cutting are pending with them. Most of the
applications they say are linked to schemes of road widening. In order not to
blindly permit felling of trees, the officials say that they have sent the
applications back to whoever has requested them. The applications have been sent
back with a note: please review whether there are any other options viz. whether
it is possible to not cut the trees by translocating them or by skirting the
roads.
Earlier civil society
members had met with the top honchos of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation (GHMC) who -informally admitting that permissions for felling trees
had been indiscriminate and been given without any application of mind -promised
to set up an expert committee to look into each tree felling application. Though
no such expert group has been set up yet, apparently the zonal municipal
commissioners have been now empowered to engage contractors to translocate trees
if they have to be felled for road
expansion.
To make their point
that tree felling should not be indiscriminate, members of the Green-Abad group
that includes prominent representatives from the Forum For Better Hyderabad
(FBH) decided to move the chief secretary. The top civil servant decided to
authorise the principal secretary in charge of environment to deal with the
matter. And in turn the principal secretary asked a special secretary to chair a
meeting with civil society representatives to take their suggestions about how
to save trees even as infrastructure development work were taken up. It was an
inconclusive meeting that is likely to be continued at a later date. But for the
time being the consensus at the meeting was that all tree cutting cannot be
stopped. Roads and other construction work might require some felling of
tree.
Translocation
An Option?
A view was expounded
by officials at the meeting that very large trees cannot be saved: because the
cost of relocating them would be too high. This could run into lakhs for each
tree. However civil society representatives felt that ruling out translocating
big trees was fraught with negative connotations. These large trees are
precisely the ones which are most beneficial to nature: they are the real carbon
sinks, which absorb carbon dioxide from air and convert it into oxygen.
Moreover, where is the data to authentically come to a proper estimate of the
costs of translocation? Further translocation to a nearby place - for instance
even to the edge of the road when the road is being expanded - will cost much
less and certainly not lakhs which would be the case if it were to be
translocated many kms
away.
Green group members
however pointed out that there were not enough agencies available in the city
with the expertise in taking up translocation work. Moreover there did not seem
to be unanimity about how to take up the work: some feel that the roots of the
tree have to be prepared days in advance, others say that the time taken is many
weeks.
Everybody has however
agreed that small trees -specially the faster growing species - could be cut
down if they came in the way of development work. But this would have to be
limited to small trees and not even for medium sized trees. Green group members
also said that cutting trees must be the very last option after all other
possibilities have been exhausted. And these options include not only
translocation but also making new roads skirt trees when the latter came in the
way. In some cases, the roads could be so widened that the trees could form the
median of two lane roads. Lack of pedestrian pathways is the bane of Hyderabad.
It could be the case of killing two birds with one stone, if a lane for
pedestrian traffic is created where the trees stand. That would obviate the need
for cutting trees because walkers don't mind -nay, they welcome- trees on their
way.