A worrying situation has come to light about trees choked with concrete across the city. According to a report submitted by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, only about 15 per cent of trees have been dechoked, so far. As per the report, a total of 3,691 trees in Nagpur were found choked by cement and concrete. Of these, only 567 trees have been dechoked which shows slow progress in protecting the city’s green cover.

 

The matter is being heard by Justice Anil Kilore and Justice Raj Wakode in connection with Public Interest Litigations (PILs) related to tree protection and dechoking. The court had earlier taken suo motu action in 2018 against large-scale tree cutting across the city, and admitted a PIL. The NMC informed the court that 3,360 trees fall under its control and it may take around 45 to 50 days to dechoke them. For dechoking trees under other departments, letters have already been sent asking them to take action. The court has directed all authorities to bear the cost and submit regular progress reports. 

 

 

The Gandhibagh Zone has done the most work, so far, dechoking 205 trees. However, the overall progress remains slow compared to the total number of affected trees. Environmental experts have raised concerns that many tress across the city are choked with concrete and debris depriving them of sufficient water and air which can damage roots and weaken them over the time. The High Court has stressed the need for faster action to protect the city’s environment and ensure that all the affected trees are dechoked as soon as possible.