State Tree Authority asks NMC to reassess age of over 1000 trees

NAGPUR, Maharashtra: The State Tree Authority of Maharashtra, in its third meeting, has asked the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to reassess the cumulative age of around 1014 trees before cutting them down for the construction of a parking area for city buses near Mor Bhavan area.

The Tree Authority asked the NMC to work alongside officials of not less than the rank of Range Forest Officer (RFO) in the Forest Department of Maharashtra.

The meeting was organised under the leadership of Manisha Patankar-Mahaiskar, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Maharashtra. The meeting was attended by Vidya Hamppya, Chairperson, State Tree Authority, Maharashtra, Bhanudas Pingale, Deputy Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Maharashtra, Vaibhav Raje, Deputy Secretary (Forest), Revenue and Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra and Narendra Toke, Member Secretary, State Tree Authority of Maharashtra.

The authority has asked NMC to provide pictures of trees that are to be felled or transplanted in the construction of the parking lot to park the fleet of city buses. The civic body has to do the compensatory plantation in other places for this purpose.

The Government of Maharashtra has constituted the state Tree Authority with an aim to conserve heritage trees and improve green cover in the state. The state government has also amended the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, under which trees over 50 years of age are designated as heritage trees in Maharashtra.