Move trees, don’t cut them: NGOs

Trees marked to be cut down for infrastructure projects can often be saved by translocating them. With another phase of Haritha Haram round the corner, NGOs and authorities are doubling up on efforts to do exactly that.

“We recently shifted eight palm trees to the zonal commission office and had 100 per cent success,” said V. Damodar, director of Urban Forestry Department, GHMC.

“We shifted 20 trees to Dr Reddy’s Laboratory near Ameerpet a month ago and we are expecting all those trees to survive. We cannot always guarantee 100 per cent survival of translocated trees, but we do expect only a 10 per cent failure rate to occur.”

Vata Foundation is an NGO that has helped in translocation of trees from several places. Says founding member Uday Krishna, “We recently shifted about 72 trees from Kukatpally Housing Board to Manikonda at an expense of `3,000 per tree. The cost of translocation depends on the size and number of trees. With monsoon in full swing, this is the right time for such a move. We focus on trees that have been marked for felling for government projects such as road widening and flyovers.” While environmentalists say that translocated trees have lower survival rates, authorities say that previous translocations prove otherwise.

“Trees normally take three months to adapt and we can’t say before that whether they will survive or not. We have also translocated trees to Manjeera Mall, Srinagar Colony and Botanical Garden. Translocation during summer might not have a high success rate, so we try to put off the same,” Mr Krishna.

HMDA takes care of translocated plants in its jurisdiction. “We understand that translocated plants require extra care and so ensure that they are looked after well during their period of adapting,” says S Satyanarayana, an HMDA official.

Gated communities like Gouthami Enclave in Kondapur and Srinagar Colony have taken saplings during the Haritha Haram plantation drive and also put in requests for translocation of trees. “It is good when residents take the initiative to maintain their surroundings and increase the green cover. When groups of people undertake to do it, they can easily maintain plants and trees,” a GHMC official said.

—DC A file photograph of trees being translocated to Manikonda from Malaysian Township by a volunteer organisation at KPHB colony for the widening of the road to construct a flyover.

—DC A file picture of tress on the Malakpet Dilsukhnagar stretch being trimmed down by the Hyderabad Metro Rail Works ahead of being translocated to the Outer Ring Road.