Thane trees in public places will now have metal tree grates

Thanks to the relentless perseverance of environment activists, Thane trees in public places will now have metal tree grates. The instruction though given by TMC commissioner in March 2018, has finally been implemented by the civic body now.

Last year a Thane resident advocate Kishore Pawar lost his life as a tree fell on him at Naupada. The matter was taken up by activist Rohit Joshi of Thane Madtdata Jagaran Abhiyaan (TMJA). They even filed a PIL (public interest litigation) in Bombay high court over the condition of trees in Thane.

Due to constant tree falling incidents in Thane during monsoon, TMC (Thane municipal corporation) commissioner constituted a technical committee to find out the reason behind this. The committee stated in its findings that the cement-concrete placed on the foot/roots of trees was the reason behind these tree falls.

"In 2015 the National green tribunal had ordered the Brihanmumbai municipal corporation to remove the concrete fixed at the root of these trees in Mumbai. But this order was never implemented in Thane," says Joshi who has pursued many an environmental issues in Thane. It was due to his untiring efforts that Thane is now set to get its tree authority after a gap of few years.

"Even TMC commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal instructed the public works department of TMC to remove concrete from the roots of trees in Thane in March this year. But this order was not implemented," says Joshi.

With continuous follow up with TMC's city engineer Anil Patil the civic body finally fixed metal tree grates on trees at Bajiprabhu Deshpande road in Naupada on August 30. "We are grateful to the TMC which has finally taken up this positive step to protect the trees in the city," says Joshi. "These grates will provide breathing space to the roots, stop soil erosion and will not affect them even in case of road widening. Though it is slightly expensive it is good for the health of trees. Healthy trees will ensure healthy citizens," says Joshi.

THE REASON

The Thane municipal corporation (TMC) commissioner constituted committee stated in its findings that the cement-concrete placed on the foot/roots of trees was the reason behind these tree falls.