A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and AA Sayed, while issuing notice to other agencies namely MMRDA, MSRTC and the state forest department, asked them to file affidavits as to what steps it is taking to increase tree cover in the city.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to furnish its policy for planting new trees and its upkeep in the city — whether it has reserved garden space in the present and proposed development plans for the city and would it maintain the gardens.
A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and AA Sayed, while issuing notice to other agencies namely MMRDA, MSRTC and the state forest department, asked them to file affidavits as to what steps it is taking to increase tree cover in the city. The directions were given during the hearing of a PIL filed by Zoru Bathena who has claimed that over 1,000 trees in the western suburbs died after being infected due to the mealy bug.
The court has also asked the corporation to inform whether it is using scientific ways to conduct a tree census. In an earlier order by the high court, the Pune Municipal Corporation was told to follow scientific methods to carry out a tree census, including GPS mapping of the trees standing and planted.
As per the petition, since 2010, trees between Khar and Borivli have been infected by the mealy bug and the BMC has not been able to identify any cause or cure. The petition prayed for directions to the BMC to protect the trees, replace dead ones with new, and take steps to increase the city's green cover.
As per the corporation, since 2010, a total of 2,104 rain trees have been infected by the mealy bug — 1,108 have died and 853 have had to be removed.
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