Prior permission mandatory for pruning or cutting trees before monsoon: PMC
As per laid-down guidelines, citizens have to raise complaints with the tree authority which then directs tree officers in every ward to take necessary action with respect to the complaints
The garden department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has warned against summary felling of trees in private areas, while appealing to citizens to apply for proper permission to prune/raze dangerous trees which are likely to be uprooted during heavy rainfall.
An order issued by the garden department in this regard states: “The monsoons are preceded by cyclonic rainfall events in the city. A large number of trees and branches fall during the monsoon period in various private establishments, which obstructs free movement of traffic and there is a possibility of loss of life and property. It is imperative that such trees and branches which are susceptible to fall during the monsoon be removed with the prior permission of the garden department. At the same time, citizens can also inform the garden department in advance about such trees and branches.”
As per laid-down guidelines, citizens have to raise complaints with the tree authority which then directs tree officers in every ward to take necessary action with respect to the complaints. Citizens can also approach the tree authority through the PMC official website, or call the fire brigade department at 101, 020-26561706 or 020-26451707. The Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act came into force in 1975 and according to chapter four section 7 (b), once before December 1996 and subsequently once in every five years, carrying out a census of the existing trees in all areas within the PMC’s jurisdiction is mandatory.
In any urban area, the concerned urban local authority will constitute a tree authority comprising (the chairman and other) not less than five and not more than 15 persons from amongst its members, appointed in such a manner and for such period as that authority may determine. In the PMC, the commissioner is the president of the tree authority. Those found violating the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 can be fined ₹10,000 and imprisoned for a period ranging between one and three months.