In a first, KMC to take up borough-wise plantation of trees from last week of June

Kolkata: For the first time the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will take up borough-wise plantation of trees by involving the borough chairmen and the councillors so that a maximum amount of saplings can be planted during this monsoon. The plantation will start in the last week of June.

“We have informed the Civil department to circulate at the borough level about our plan of involving the councillors and borough chairmen in the plantation. We want to plant at least 1 lakh trees during the monsoon. We want the boroughs to take up the responsibility of planting at least 2,500 trees each,“ a senior official of KMC’s Park and Garden department said.

He added that the department centrally has set a target of planting 50,000 to 60,000 trees.

“We are very serious about urban forestry and we are waiting for the monsoon to set in for starting plantation drive in full swing,“ Mayor Firhad Hakim said.

The Parks and Garden department has planned to relay pavements with hollow perforated paver blocks to enable rainwater to percolate to the tree roots and keep them nourished and healthy.

The species of trees that have been selected for plantation are kadam, jarul, bakul, weeping debdaru, neem etc. Fruit trees, like mango, jamun, guava and jackfruit will also be planted depending on the availability of space. Debdaru variety will dominate the plantation drive as it does not produce canopy and hence it is advantageous for the city that is crammed for space.

Since the severe Cyclonic Amphan uprooted more than 15,000 trees in the city, KMC has adopted a scientific method in tree plantation by deliberately avoiding trees like Krishnachura and Radhachura that are susceptible to damage in case of a squall.

KMC has recently stopped issuing completion certificates (CC) to real estate projects that do not meet its mandatory tree-planting norms. Last week, the Building department withheld the completion certificate for a housing project in Park Circus after an inspection revealed the developer had failed to plant sufficient numbers of trees.

Last year, the civic body had mandated that projects on 1.5-acre plots (6,000sq m) would be required to set aside 15 per cent area for trees and those on five acres (20,000sq m) must allocate 20 per cent of the area or an acre for tree-planting.