Sunday, 18 July 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
officials call it well planned
In view of the recent proposal passed in the board meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) according to which a person will have to plant five saplings for each tree felled, the experts opine that this decision lacks planning and is bound to fail. Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ recently announced that the corporation will not issue any No Objection Certificate (NOC) for free like earlier and the new applicants will have to abide by some rules to obtain NOC. The applicants will now have to pay Rs 2,000 to MCD for each tree which is to be cut down for residential use of land besides planting five trees in the city before getting the NOC. In case the tree is being cut for commercial use of land, applicants will have to pay Rs 10,000 for each tree felled besides planting 10 trees. The applicants will be asked to submit the photographs of the planted saplings in MCD as proof with their application, informed the mayor. He also clarified that those who do not have any land to plant the trees can provide the saplings to the corporation for plantation.
Talking about this decision, an activist and secretary of a Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD), Himanshu Arora opined that this decision of the corporation lacks proper planning as it is not a practical decision to follow to save the environment. “When such big trees get burned or destroyed in forests due to various factors including climatic conditions then how will the saplings survive? Several people plant thousands of saplings on occasions like environment day or Harela festival but how many actually grow and survive is not monitored,” said Arora. “There is a certain season for plantation, so does that mean people will cut down trees only during that time or they will plant the tree without considering whether it grows to be a healthy tree or not? There are several factors which have been ignored by the corporation while making this decision,” asserted Arora. However, he also suggested that rather than asking applicants to plant saplings, MCD should ask them to provide tree guards which will help in saving the saplings during harsh weather conditions. He also said that space is also an issue in the city for planting trees. Public Works Department (PWD) should also leave some space while making roads to plant trees rather than concretising them from edge to edge, said Arora.
Dehradun based activist and human rights lawyer Reenu Paul also called this decision of the MCD impractical. She said that probably if the corporation marks a specific land in the city where trees can be planted making it like a city forest then it is possible. “A person who will cut trees from his or her land rather than accommodating it cannot be trusted for tree plantation and then taking care of them. Certain organisations dedicated to this work in the city would do better work,” said Paul. She also expressed her scepticism regarding MCD’s decision as according to Paul only the forest department has the authority to allow the cutting of trees.
Responding to such reservations about MCD’s plan, the municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said that the corporation will just provide the NOC to the eligible applicants as per the rules with the new conditions but the final decision will be taken by the forest department. He further added that the corporation has taken this decision after proper planning to make people more responsible towards the environment here.
