Navi Mumbai has seen a big increase in its tree population in the last 8 years. The latest tree census by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) recorded a total of 15,28,779 trees. This marks a 78% rise from the 8,57,295 trees counted in 2015. This means there is an addition of 6,71,484 trees.
The census was delayed for several reasons. Ornet Technologies Pvt. Ltd. conducted the census, which cost around INR 3 crore. The survey started in December 2023 and continued until May this year.
The data shows a dominance of indigenous trees. There are 11,43,937 native species like kaduneem, amba, vad, peepal, bor, and umber. Additionally, there are 3,842,842 non-indigenous trees. This includes gulmohar, sonmohar, foxtail palm, vilayati babul, royal palm, and vilayati chinch.
The census identified 1,638 heritage trees. It also found 216 species, with 126 being native and 90 being exotic. The health of the tree population is strong, with 99.2% of the trees, or 15,15,955 trees, reported as healthy.
Sag (Teak), Gulmohar (Delonix regia), Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala), Asupalav (Polyalthia longifolia), and Sonmohar (Peltophorum pterocarpum) were found to be dominant in the city. Among vegetable trees, shevga (drumstick) is common. Naral (coconut), Bor (Ziziphus mauritiana), and Amba (mango) are the most prevalent fruit trees.
The trees in the survey were at least three metres tall and had a girth of at least 10 cm. The data was mapped using Geographic Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems technology and satellite imagery. This effort also produced a web app for tree cutting and pruning activities, as well as a web portal for managing the data.
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