BMC has a ₹117-crore plan to trim Mumbai trees scientifically over 2 years

In a first, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will appoint a horticulturist, and a botanist to provide technical expertise during tree pruning, which will begin within a month

To prevent tree fall deaths, the civic body has come up with a ₹117-crore plan to trim trees, identify and remove dangerous trees or their branches across all its wards over the next 24 months.

According to BMC’s disaster management department, seven people died and 21 were injured in tree collapses last monsoon (HT File)

In a first, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will appoint a horticulturist, and a botanist to provide technical expertise during tree pruning, which will begin within a month. Civic officials said they have included the newly formulated guidelines for tree transplant in the bid document, which make it mandatory for an arborist (tree surgeon) to be part of the team. “The document aims at scientific pruning of trees. Many trees collapse during the monsoon because a diseased tree that is not strong enough to withstand wind is not identified in time or sufficient attention is not paid to the balance of a tree while pruning its branches,” said a senior official.

According to BMC’s disaster management department, seven people died and 21 were injured in tree collapses last monsoon. Between June and September 2018, 510 trees and 1,077 branches collapsed. Of the 510 tree collapses, 367 fell in private compounds. Of the 1,077 branch collapses, 700 were reported in private compounds.

Kishor Kshirsagar, deputy municipal commissioner and incharge of BMC’s gardens cell, said, “A horticulturist and arborist will ensure trees are pruned or transplanted scientifically. The tender document will be updated with requirement of latest technical infrastructure by Monday next week.” Tenders for the project were floated earlier this month.