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GHMC Transplants Fail
Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli | May 18, 2008 | 438 views
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Loading ...A couple of years ago the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (now GHMC), under pressure from environmentalists, had decided to transplant chopped trees. But it’s intention appear to have been less than genuine: All the 10 transplanted trees dried and died in the past one year.
“It’s not surprising because the municipality makes money out of the deadwood. Its focus is on selling the wood and not transplantation,” an environmentalist said.
Everytime there’s a request to fell trees, the GHMC sends out mailers to parties interested in firewood. The highest bidder is awarded the contract to chop the trees and use the deadwood. Officials confirmed trees are auctioned before they are cut, but hastily added that the business “doesn’t run into lakhs of rupees”. The rate is decided based on the numbers, age and species of the trees. The GHMC does not employ its labour and the task is handled entirely by private parties. That’s a quick job and easy money. And it is perhaps for this reason that GHMC is not interested in transplantation as it requires a two-month preparation. “A tree needs to be treated for two months before it is chopped and the trench dug up for its re-plantation should be treated for a month with hormones so that the tree strikes root,” says B Srinivas, director, Urban Forestry. Needless to say none of this is followed when trees are felled abruptly for road widening.
Also missing from the transplantation exercise is the care needed to be taken when chopped trees are lifted by cranes. It has to be so lifted that the cambium layer (cells between the wood and bark of a stem from which new cells originate) is not damaged. Poor transportation can also damage the roots, officials said. The 10 transplanted trees may have died due to these reasons.
“The 10 trees, planted in an open area in Road No. 12 in Banjara Hills, did fine for six months but then started dying,” Srinivas said.
Officials, however, said that few species respond to transplantation. But trees such as peepul and banyan can be transplanted easily if treated in advance and authorities clearly overlooked this when chopping the 200-year-old banyan tree outside the Paigah Palace. The most common tree felled in the city, ‘peltophoran’, has failed to grow after transplant. While some blamed it on poor handling others branded it as a tree meant only for firewood. “In any case, most trees felled are four to five years old,” says P Konda Reddy, chief horticulturist, GHMC.
Officials also lamented that public apathy had hit their efforts. “Between Punjagutta and Erramanzil we planted seven to eight ‘bauhinia’ trees that grow up to 5 to 7 metres. But the trees have been destroyed,” Srinivas said.
SOURCES:
Times Of India
Topics: Environment, Govt Failures |
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