GHMC to stop green murder

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad's green cover is now safe, at least for the time being. After a sustained campaign by TOI against mindless tree cutting in the city, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation commissioner CVSK Sarma passed orders on Monday evening that no more trees will be cut in greater Hyderabad jurisdiction and all permissions given for tree cutting in the city now stand cancelled.
"Whatever is done has to be revamped now.All permissions given (for tree cutting) are hereby revoked," Sarma told this newspaper after passing the order. "A committee will be appointed at the head office that will review all applications made for tree cutting," he said. The commissioner has also promised to get the banyan tree's trunk outside Paigah palace at Begumpet restored if possible.
Last Monday, a 200-year-old banyan tree outside Paigah Palace, the erstwhile HUDA office was axed leading to public outcry. Angry mails poured into the office lamenting the loss of the city's green cover and pointing out continuous axing of trees ���that are carbon sinks��� was leading to increase in the average temperature. The orders given by the commissioner will not only arrest an environmental disaster in the city waiting to happen what with over a thousand trees axed in the past one year alone but also end the practice of giving blind approvals to all requests for tree cutting. So far, no applications for tree cutting had been denied by GHMC officials or an alternative to tree cutting ever suggested.
The applications were being made to the urban forestry and horticulture departments, which will now cease. All applications will now be sent to the new expert committee once it is in place.
The commissioner took the decisions after activists of Forum for a Better Hyderabad protesting against the banyan tree chopping demanded that no more trees be cut in the city and that the chopped banyan tree's trunk be restored. The forum had demanded that an expert committee be formed to take decision on the necessity for tree cutting. "The committee will comprise town planning and botanical experts, the latter to suggest which trees can be cut and which should be maintained," said forum president M Veda Kumar. He added that for restoring the trunk of the old banyan, Farida Tampal, state director of WWF, will be roped in as advisor.
Enthused by the commissioner's response, FBH will now start the 'Hyderabad Save the Tree campaign'. "We congratulate the TOI initiative and assure them that now the forum and all the NGOs who are in this movement will continue to work on saving trees. This movement will continue now," Veda Kumar said.