Unhappy with slow pace of tree pruning, TMC chief seeks action

THANE: Dissatisfied with its slow progress, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) commissioner Abhijit Bangar has given orders to delegate more manpower to carry out the pre-monsoon tree pruning works even as windy conditions due to the impact of Cyclone Biparjoy led to more t tree collapse incidents this week.

According to the survey conducted in Thane Municipal area, 7,823 dangerous branches of trees have to be removed before the monsoon. Of these, 2,190 dangerous branches have been removed so far. “The pace of work is slow as the monsoon is about to start,” said Bangar aftert a review of the works carried out by TMC’s garden department.

On Monday afternoon, a big tree collapse inside Pongam society near Vasant Vihar school damaging three parked cars. No injury or casualty was reported in the incident. The Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) recorded complaints of eight tree collapses, 11 complaints of tree branch collapse and six complaints of trees in dangerous condition from citizens.

During the review meeting, Bangar expressed his dissatisfaction with the speed of work. “Necessary mechanical methods should be used to prune trees. For this, at least one vehicle should be arranged in each ward committee,” he said.

“Accidents are also possible when a worker climbs a tree to cut the branches. Therefore, this work should be done by providing necessary security. When it rains, the trunk of the tree gets wet, so an accident is possible even when a worker climbs a tree to cut it. Therefore, this work should be done by providing necessary safety gear,” said Bangar.

In the TMC budget, a proposal to purchase of additional vehicles used for pruning of trees was cleared, but the specialised vehicles are yet to arrive.

“Citizens are not satisfied with the functioning of the garden department. This image needs to be radically changed. Whether the file is ready, where it is stuck, why is there a problem, the citizens are not interested in this. According to them, the important issue is whether the work is done or not,” he told the meeting.

As per the TMC chief, a dangerous tree or its branches should cleared immediately without considering whether it is in the private space or in the public space.

The civic body chief also made it clear that the tree authority’s job is not just to give permission to fell trees, but also conserve and protect the trees. Bangar urged the department to take any decisions on trees cutting or other immediately without delay.

The civic body chief also warned that a case will be registered if even a single tree is destroyed in the name of cutting dangerous branches of trees. Similarly, if it is noticed that a tree has been cut down for advertisement hoarding in the municipal area, the concerned authorities will be responsible. Also, the hoarding in that case will be removed.

The tree fall incidents in Thane had killed people which had led to the highlight of the shoddy work done by the concerned department of TMC. Environmental activists had earlier asked the civic body to carry out the tree pruning, preservation work efficiently to avoid any tragedy.

“It is shocking that the TMC itself admits that too many branches are unsafe and nothing has been done even just before the monsoon. TMC charges 1 percent tree cess from the citizens. The amount of money used for trees pruning, maintained and preservation is very less. There are at least 10 lakh trees in TMC limits. The civic body has spent ₹5 crore for the transplantation machine, which has not put in use. There is a lack of tree-trimming machines and trucks,” said Rohit Joshi, environmentalist and founder of Yeoor Environmental Society, told HT adding that he is planning to meet Bangar to discuss the issue in the next few days and find a concrete solution.

Joshi and two other petitioners who were victims of tree fall, had filed a PIL stating that the TMC has not implemented the Urban Green Guidelines framed by Ministry of Town and Country Planning Organisation in 2014. Neither has it undertaken a phased de-concretisation programme near all the trees as per the direction of NGT in 2015 nor has the corporation framed a policy to compensate victims of tree collapses.