Wake up Hyderabad! time to arrest tree felling

With fewer trees in the city, people and animals lose out on shade in the scorching summer heat

Hyderabad: Every day, trees are trimmed, chopped, and overlooked on the streets of Hyderabad. Consequentially, city dwellers and animals are losing out on shade and respite from the harsh summer heat that is peaking at almost 45 degrees Celsius.

While there seem to be enough trees in the city, the growing apparent temperature, AQI levels, and visible concretization suggest that city trees need more. Uday Krishna, co-founder of the VATA Foundation which works extensively on conserving trees, points out an unfortunate state where most city dwellers are nonchalant in regards to trees.

“It is definitely possible for development while also conserving trees. But we need a higher level of understanding and people should have the intention to save them,” he says, emphasizing accountability for each axed tree.

In areas within the ORR including Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, a Tree Protection Committee (TPC) is in charge of overseeing the permissions for felling trees. The eight-member committee comprises representatives of NGOs, GHMC, HMDA, R&B, and the Telangana Forest Department (TFD).

Explaining the process according to permissions, State Director of WWF India and member of TPC, Farida Tampal says the committee combs through applications and checks if trees could be saved or translocated. “We visit the site, survey, and check if any trees can be saved. Perhaps some can be translocated or minor changes can be made to the plans. For trees which have to be axed, we assess and give them a number of trees that have to be planted as compensation,” she said.  If the number of trees is less than 10, one can also submit an online application on the TS-iPASS where the number of trees to be planted would be double the number of trees felled. All permissions are as per the Water, Land, and Trees Act (WALTA), 2002.

Departments need to lead by example

However, conservationists express dissatisfaction over the TPC process, calling these permissions a mere facade for government agencies and builders to go ahead with their ventures. B “A majority of the trees that come for review are being removed. Then how is that tree protection? If someone says they cannot plant trees, they are asked to pay an additional fee and the Forest Department will take care of that, but where are these trees being planted?” questions Uday. Divisional Forest Officer M Joji says that tree conservation is a continuous process and stresses on citizen participation. The fines levied are four times the value of the tree which is calculated by tonnes, and around Rs 70,000 can be fined for only one tree.