In a major threat to environment in Mumbai, between 2001-2011, the city lost 22.6 per cent of its green cover. In a recent study by IIT-Bombay, it was revealed that Mumbai "witnessed extreme levels of ungreening" in the last decade. The study was conducted by two IIT-Bombay professors - R.A.A.J Ramsankaran, Ronta Bardhan and doctoral student V Sathyakumar.
To conduct the study, the professors and Sathyakumar had used satellite imagery and census data. The study revealed that trees in 68 out of 88 census wards in Mumbai were cut down from 2001-2011.
The study also stated that the per capita greenery also reduced by a median of 2.8 square metres per person in the city. According to Sathyakumar, the loss of green cover in western parts of the suburbs is indicative of the commercial and residential development that took place in the 2000s.
The places that lost majority of the green cover from 2001-2011 were Goregaon, Andheri (west), Malad (west). The green cover in Goregaon, had decreased from 62.5 per cent in 2001 to 17.4 in 2011. Meanwhile, in Andheri, the green cover came down from 63 per cent to 20 per cent in ten years whereas the green cover in Malad (west) fell to 19.5 per cent from 62 per cent.
On a positive note, where Goregoan and Andheri (west) saw a dip in green cover, areas like Dadar, Sion and Matunga saw an increase in the same.
Speaking about the increase in green cover at the places, the researchers cited the reason behind the improvement was the construction of railway lines. They explained that the emergence of greenery along roads and railway lines might have contributed to the green cover of Dadar, Sion and Matunga.
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