Earlier, the AMC was thinking of saving the trees by making separate lanes on the stretch for four-wheelers and two-wheelers.
If the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) implements its latest idea for road-widening project on Gujarat College road, then the nature lovers of the city will have to cry foul. For, the civic body is considering cutting down the 200-odd trees on both sides of the road from DEO office to Gujarat College main gate.
Earlier, the AMC was thinking of saving the trees by making separate lanes on the stretch for four-wheelers and two-wheelers.
The civic body wanted to make two lanes for four-wheelers on the existing road and two lanes for two-wheelers off both the sides of road (beyond the trees), so that there would not arise the need to cut the trees.
In a recent meeting attended by municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra, deputy municipal commissioner Utpal Padia and other officials, it was discussed how to go about the road-widening project on the road. It came up that all the trees on both sides of the stretch should be cut to make way for a wide road.
It was suggested that around 1,000 saplings be planted on both sides of the road so that the area remained green as before. Officials said the new plantation would, to some extent, compensate for the loss of the green cover existing for a long time.
When asked why the earlier proposal was being scrapped, Padia said: "We thought that separate lanes will be encroached upon and the two-wheelers will ply on the lanes meant for four-wheelers. So we are now considering a different proposal to cut all the trees in order to widen the road."
Sources in AMC said that the plantation of around 1,000 saplings would be carried out during this monsoon. "It was found that if we went ahead with the earlier proposal, there will be too much of traffic and chaos because of separate lanes. To avoid all this, the proposal to cut the trees and plant saplings on the border wall along the road was suggested," added the source.
Can't the existing trees be relocated instead of being fully chopped off? Officials say it is a costly affair. "Re-plantation is a costly affair as it takes Rs1,000 to Rs20,000 for each re-plantation depending upon the size of the tree and the site. Also, the trees on the stretch are very old and to remove them, one has to dig up at least four feet deep near the road. This will damage the road, which has been resurfaced several times," added the source.
At present, AMC spends around Rs8 lakh to Rs10 lakh every year for the plantation drive.
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