Mumbai rain check: BMC to audit 1.75 lakh trees in 15 days
The move comes after 38-year-old Dinesh Sangle fro m Naigaon, died after a tree on premises of the Marathi Grantha Sangrahalaya (MMGS), in Dadar, fell on him in April.
After facing flak for the increasing number of deaths owing to tree fall ahead of the monsoon, civic chief Ajoy Mehta on Saturday ordered an audit of over 1.75 lakh roadside trees in the next 15 days.
In a monthly meeting on Saturday, Mehta asked for an audit of 1,75,333 trees along the roadside and asked the garden department to initiate necessary trimming exercise. Since last year, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been criticised for illegal and unscientific trimming of trees and extensive concretisation, which according to experts is the cause of the increasing number of tree falls.
Four tree fall deaths were recorded in 2017. While private property owners are supposed to report deadly trees or apply for pruning, Mehta ordered the garden department to stick caution notices around trees in such properties that are found dangerously tilting towards the road.
The move comes after 38-year-old Dinesh Sangle fro m Naigaon, died after a tree on premises of the Marathi Grantha Sangrahalaya (MMGS), in Dadar, fell on him in April. While MMGS claimed that it wrote to BMC last August , BMC claimed that it had served a notice to the library.
Some experts said it is possible to conduct audit of 1.75 lakh trees in 15 days. Civic officials said they have already started conducting audit of trees and trimming them as part of pre-monsoon work. “It is possible to audit over 1 lakh trees in 15 days, as it is done at the ward level. The BMC will have the list of deadly trees and can’t pass the buck. It will be better equipped to prevent tree fall cases,” said Niranjan Shetty, former tree authority member.
Mehta also said hutments and slums in hilly areas that are vulnerable to landslides be notified and warned. He asked for a list of five schools in each of the 24 wards which can be used in emergency and for rehabilitation.