MUMBAI: In a first, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) completed plantation of 51,151 trees in a degraded forest at Gotheghar in Shil Phata, Kalyan and Titwala.
Metropolitan commissioner RA Rajeev planted the 51,151st tree on Wednesday.
The project is undertaken under the tripartite agreement arrived at by the MMRDA, forest department, Thane and Maharashtra State Forest Development Corporation, Thane.
An MMRDA spokesperson said, “The tree plantation drive which began in the first week of August, 2019 concluded today.”
MMRDA and other infrastructure development agencies are under fire from various citizen groups for carrying of cutting and removal of trees for Mumbai Metro or road development work.
Rajeev said, “This plantation activity is in addition to compensatory plantation drive that will be undertaken due to loss of tree cover because of infrastructure works.”
The tree plantation drive was undertaken in the area measuring 46 ha in Gotheghar. Out of the 51,151 trees, ten thousand trees have been planted in Titwala and Kalyan.
Bakul, Neem, Pimpal, Vad, Shiso, Tamhan, Arjun, Kadamb, Jarul and Jambul are few of the varieties that have been planted while completing the 51,151 tree plantation drive. No foreign species are allowed to be planted or transplanted in this forest area.
The growth of all the trees will be monitored for a period of three years by experts.
Rajeev said, “We are awake to the environmental issues and are only happy to undertake such programmes. We are very sensitive to tree cutting. However, we also cannot overlook the environmental advantages of projects”
Additional metropolitan commissioner Sanjay Kandhare said, “MMRDA has recently established a garden department and will be looking at more and more opportunities to tackle climate change.”
About Post Author
