Malabar Hill residents group up to fight for trees

Malabar Hill residents in Mumbai are upset over excessive tree pruning, leading to tree falls. They plan to send a letter to officials to address the issue.

MUMBAI: A delegation of Malabar Hill residents held a meeting on Saturday to address their growing list of complaints regarding excessive tree pruning in their area. They prepared a letter to send to BMC and government officials.

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“Wherever I see, there is tree trimming going on,” said a resident of Malabar Hill Khushboo Ghira. “It is at an excessive level this year. It is leading to a lot of tree falls, having the converse effect of saving the trees from falling.”

Ghira explained what she has been witnessing in her neighborhood. “The tree cutters just take an axe and saw off all the lower branches of the trees because they are easy to reach. That makes the trees top-heavy and pushes their centre of gravity higher, which makes them more likely to fall. It is not being done scientifically at all.”

Consequently, many of the trees being hacked and falling are perfectly healthy, she said, and aren’t being given a chance to grow normally and healthily. On Friday night, a tree had fallen on LD Ruparel Marg and was cleared off by the BMC. Residents alleged it could have been saved, or a new one planted in its place.

The group worked on a draft letter, starting with, “We, the residents of Malabar Hill, Mumbai, are deeply pained by the wanton ‘hacking’ of trees in our city in the guise of trimming.” They plan to send the letter to officials in the BMC, the environment department, the assistant commissioner of the D ward, the environment ministry, the chief minister, and even as high as the prime minister.

The group has also collected photographic evidence of poorly pruned trees in their area to strengthen their complaint.

Ghira expressed frustration that their previous meetings and complaints have not had any effect. “There haven’t been corporators for two years, and the elected representatives are busy in one election after another. Our complaints go unanswered. Where do we go?”