LOKMAT NEWS NETWORK
Nashik, Oct 29
The Parks Department of the Nashik Municipal Corporation is going to purchase a tree transplantation machine with a fund of Rs 2.5 crores under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). This will boost the tree plantations in the city.
The development of the city is going on all around and high-rise buildings are springing up on vacant plots. Construction of roads and other infrastructures is on too. However, the development takes its first toll on trees. The park department also gives approval for the felling of trees where necessary. In return, developers are obliged to plant trees. But now the park department would be able to directly replant the trees in another place without cutting them. For this, the Parks Department has started planning for the purchase of tree transplantation machinery.
Simhastha Kumbh Mela soon will take place in the city and a large number of trees will have to be cut down for the inner and outer ring roads, expansion of the old ring road, and at Sadhugram site. If this machine is purchased before that, it will be possible to replant a large number of trees.
Under the union government’s NCAP scheme, the Parks Department has received Rs 6 crore for greenery in the city. Out of which Rs. 2.5 crores will be allocated for the purchase of this machine. A tree with a lifespan of 15 to 20 years can be easily replanted through this machine.
According to the previous tree census, there are more than 40 lakh trees in the city. To stop the felling of trees in the name of development in the city and to keep it green, the NMC’s park department will purchase the tree plantation machine. In that regard, the Park Superintendent informed that the work of preparing a proposal is underway. In Western countries, emphasis is placed on tree replanting instead of felling. Nashik Municipal Corporation is also insisting on this method and the Park Department has started work on it.
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We aim to develop as many parks as possible in the city. Observing the speed of development of the city, many times permission to cut down trees has to be given. As an alternative, a tree replanting machine worth Rs 2.5 crores will be purchased. We believe that this will help the environment.
- Vivek Bhadane, Park Superintendent, NMC