200 trees on Gujarat college road stretch, and 80 in paldi are may be felled. Transplanting of trees proves impractical for trees with trunks that measure more than 60 cm in diametre.
So many trees have been felled in Ahmedabad in the name of development that one cannot be blamed for thinking that the trees could have been saved by transplanting them to another place. But it seems it is not possible to transplant every tree.
Even in the case of those which can be transplanted, the cost of shifting them with their long, thick roots intact is so high as to be prohibitive.
To transplant a tree, it has to be dug out of the ground along with its roots, and replanted at another location. Deputy municipal commissioner of the AMC, SK Langa, who is also the civic body’s director of parks and gardens, explained what decides whether a tree can be transplanted or not.
“If the trunk of a tree measures 60 cm in diameter or less, it can be transplanted. If the trunk of a tree is larger than 60 cm in diameter, it would be risky to transplant it. The survival rate of trees with huge trunks that have been transplanted is very low,” Langa said. He further said that the stretch of the Gujarat College road which has to been widened has been surveyed to ascertain how many trees growing along it could be transplanted. A report on the survey has been submitted to the forest department, said Langa. Sources familiar with how tree transplantation is carried out said that it is an expensive exercise even in the case of trees which can be shifted safely.
“Transplantation is a costly affair for any civic body or even for private organisations. Depending on the size and species of the tree to be transplanted, the cost can come to anywhere between Rs2,000 and Rs20,000 per tree,” a source said.
The sources also said that the trees along Gujarat College road are quite old and if they were to be dug out, the diggers will find nothing but stone and brick for 4-5 feet. "They will have to dig deeper to excavate the roots without injuring them. This would be necessary as the survival rate of such old trees after transplantation is rather low," a source said. It may be noted that 200-odd trees growing along the stretch of Gujarat College road that is to be widened may have to be cut. Similarly, around 80 trees on a stretch of road in Paldi are also on the chopping block, though no survey has been carried out here to determine the number of trees that may have to be axed. Further, the parks and garden department of the AMC is yet to give permission for cutting the Paldi trees.
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