Housing societies to bear cost of tree trimming: BMC

Despite long-pending demand from activists and corporators, civic body says won’t pay

After awarding contracts for tree-pruning across the city, the BMC appealed to citizens to take permissions and prune trees in their residential premises. The cost of trimming trees will depend on the type and girth of the tree and has to be borne by the housing societies. Many activists and corporators have been demanding that the cost of pruning trees should be borne by the corporation, but the BMC has refused to do so.

Last week, around 1,000 trees were uprooted by Cyclone Tauktae and the branches of several thousand trees fell. It takes four to five days to clear them and many citizens groups came forward to rehabilitate the uprooted trees.

The BMC has selected contractors to trim trees across the city at a cost of Rs 37 crore for a year.

“The permission is necessary and it is given within seven days once the prescribed fee is paid at the ward office. The permission can be taken by visiting a ward office, from portal.mcgm.gov.in or from the app, MCGM 24*7. Citizens will have to dispose of the broken branches and other debris if they hire a private contractor. In case of a civic-appointed contractor, they will dispose of the waste,” said Jitendra Pardeshi, superintendent of the Garden Department of the BMC. 

“We can’t give service to private properties. The civic-appointed contractors’ charges are including pruning as well as transportation. People can do it by private contractors also,” said an official from the BMC. 

Also Read: Mumbai: Trees bear brunt of concrete bases near Lokhandwala lake

‘Let BMC spend tax money’

“Societies already bear the maintenance cost of gardens and trees. The BMC collects property tax from everyone, they should give this service at least to housing societies. The demand has been there for several years, but the BMC administration is just ignoring it,” said Ravi Raja, Congress corporator and leader of opposition in the BMC.

“We raised the issue for several years. Housing societies cannot take the burden of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 a year for pruning a tree. This will discourage the planting of trees. Besides, thousands of trees and branches fell during the cyclone. It was a natural disaster, how can we ask people to spend their money?” said Abhijeet Samant, BJP corporator and member of the Tree Authority. 

“It will not be a burden on the BMC which spends thousands of crores on fancy projects. Trees are important and people need BMC’s support to protect them,” said Rais Shaikh, corporator and MLA of Samajwadi Party. 

‘BMC discouraging people’

“The corporation must bear the expenses. Nowadays chain saws are used widely. It should not be so expensive to trim. Why is BMC discouraging people? If this is done, people will poison trees and clear the area. The corporation should support societies and individuals to protect and scientifically trim trees,” said Stalin D, an environmental activist. 

“The BMC pays crores every year to their own contractors to remove the dangerous branches on every single tree in Mumbai, both private and public. When the BMC has issued a purchase order for every tree in Mumbai, is it not their responsibility to check and care for each tree? Or, is the tender issued only to siphon off money in the name of tree care?” said activist Zoru Bhathena.

Expenditure on tree-pruning

Rs 37 crore: Amount BMC has agreed to pay to prune trees on roads, public spaces for a year. The amount is divided among areas as such:
Rs 8.88 crore: Eastern suburbs
Rs 16.66 crore: Western suburbs
Rs 12.47 crore: Island city

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