Apparently, going against the public mood, the Maha Metro, on Friday started felling full grown trees along the periphery of Futala lake for construction of a retaining wall. The act was done with the permission of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) but without conducting any public hearing. In March, Maha Metro had sought permission from NMC for felling 121 full grown trees for construction of the retaining wall of Futala lake to avoid soil erosion. Citizens and environmentalists had raised concern and registered complaint opposing the felling of trees just for construction of a wall and also gave suggestions to Maha Metro. According to NMC officials, the wall will prevent soil erosion which happens frequently as the road has a slope. Maha Metro is constructing Viewers Gallery at Futala Lake and backside of the gallery the agency want to construct the wall to avoid soil erosion.

 

 

 

“We sought permission of NMC for cutting of 12 full grown trees for retaining wall and also paid compensation to the civic body in this regard. The whole procedure is going on as per the rule,” Akhilesh Halve, DGM (CC), Maha Metro told The Hitavada. He also said, “Our experts tried the option to implement pitching with stones on the slop but they found that the technique will not help due to the water pressure in the lake. Hence, they advised to construct retaining wall to avoid soil erosion.” Halve also said that Maha Metro has also planted 60 saplings against the felling of 12 trees in the same locality. However, NMC’s Garden Superintendent Amol Chourpagar said, “Maha Metro sought permission for felling 12 trees which are in the middle of the newly-constructed road and are not in the list of 121 trees.” It may be noted that Maha Metro has submitted a list of 121 trees to NMC to be cut down for construction of the retaining wall of Futala lake. The statement by both authorities are contradictory which raises doubt.

 

“There is a rule in which an authority need not require to hold public hearing if the number of trees (to be cut down) are below 25. By hacking trees in small numbers, Maha Metro is misusing the rule for its own benefits,” said Shrikant Deshpande, environment activist. Jaideep Das, environment activist and former Honorary Wildlife Warden, said, “We raised objections against the decision of felling of trees at Futala. As per the rule, NMC should conduct public hearing before giving permission to Maha Metro for bringing down trees.” Similarly, Kaustav Chatterjee, Founder of Green Vigil Foundation, also raised question over the permission granted by NMC for felling of the trees. “Nagpur city is already loosing its green cover. Instead of giving permission for felling of trees, the civic administration should explore alternative to implement development projects by saving the green lungs.”

 

“Whenever permission is sought for hacking trees in more numbers, public hearing on objections by citizens becomes a mandatory step,” Chatterjee said. “The authorities concerned were not paying any heed towards collapsing heritage wall or leakage at the lake and now they are cheating citizens in this novel way,” said Chatterjee. “Trees are known for their soil-holding capacity, thus, bringing down deep-rooted big old trees in large numbers will definitely result in soil erosion, which will have adverse effect on the lake itself,” warned Chatterjee.