On Friday, March 13, the Shiv Sena-led Tree Authority Panel approved a proposal of cutting and transplanting over 300 trees for Metro 2A (Dahisar-D.N. Nagar) project. According to the proposal, over 159 trees will be cut from the areas like Laljipada in Kandivali, D.N. Nagar in Andheri and Goregaon; and 151 trees will be transplanted.
The proposal was first tabled by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on February 14 which got approved on Friday. Shiv Sena leader in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) stated that they will ensure that the trees are transplanted and will monitor their survival rate. The BMC will be transplanting trees for various Metro projects using the Japanese Miywaki method.
Also Read: MMRDA To Cut 2,326 Trees and Transplant 3,693 Trees For Various Infra Projects
For those unaware, Miyawaki method was developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. It is a method to restore native forests from seeds of native trees on very degraded soils which were deforested. This process is done without using humus. However, according to Akira Miyawaki, there are several factors which ensure the success of this method. They are:
However, green activists have criticised this move of BMC and said that it would be inefficient. According to Aarey activist Zoru Bathena,
"Miyawaki seems to be the new flavour for BMC. The BMC should concentrate on few large plots and show the results before jumping into using this method everywhere. Plots with existing trees should be preserved and barren land should be used for other work, but BMC works the other way. They want to do plantation in barren land and cut down the existing trees, which makes no sense. Preservation and protection of the existing trees should be their first priority.
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