No concrete plan to protect green cover

Mumbai: Experts have called for concrete efforts to maintain the state and health of the existing trees. There are no tree basins or space left around those trees for the trees to remain healthy. The safety of the tree is at stake due to lack of space and concretisation, they have said.

The National Green Tribunal had earlier directed that there should be 1meter x 1 meter square left as soil area for trees in construction activities. However environmentalists have asserted that the NGT order is not being implemented. “Several trees in Mumbai are not given free space during road widening or construction activities. Trees are concretised with construction materials like cement, tar and tiles which prevents rain water to seep into the ground. During non-rainy days, it prevents the roots to breathe in absence of soil,” said Zoru Bhathena, a Mumbai based tree activist.

“There are various signs of a damaged tree like, shedding of leaves, the leaves turning yellow, peeling of the tree’s bark, powdery substance from the woods. Yet there is a need to adopt a more effective technology to prevent accidents due to tree fall,” said Rajdeo Singh, Botanist, Bombay Natural History Society(BNHS).