Technicality shouldn't fell zoo trees

In 2002,two century-old rain trees standing in the middle of the road near DadarCatering College were proving a traffic hazard as several motorists would raminto them in the dark. However, an NGO persuaded the BMC to install reflectorsagainst the trees, preventing them from being axed.Former municipalcommissioner Sharad Kale cites this example to dismiss doubts raised by theMumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) over whether Jijamata Udyan can bedescribed as a botanical garden. "Quibbling over technical detail is an excuseto justify the passage of the BMC's renovation plan,'' he says. "Before wedestroy a precious treasure that we know to be a botanical garden for nearly 150years, we need to know how car parks and enclosures can be constructed without asingle tree being cut, as the heritage committee stipulates.'' Kale hopes BMCchief Jairaj Phatak will intervene.Like him, several people withinand outside the establishment want to set aside the debate over the garden'snomenclature. They all wonder how a complete overhaul of the zoo includingshifting of animal enclosures, laying new sewage lines, storm water drains andelectrical fittings, not to forget the large car park MHCC chairman DineshAfzulpurkar advised, will skirt the roots of every exotic Kachnar tree or Mehndishrub, or prevent the 3,000-odd green giants from biting thedust.Historian Sharada Dwivedi is "100 per cent sure'' Rani Bagh isa botanical garden. "If the BMC and the heritage committee are unaware of thedefinition of the term, it is time they did their homework. They have a copy ofthe list of exotic trees, shrubs and plants in the precinct, and if that doesn'tmake a botanical garden what does?''Activists of the Save Rani BaghBotanical Garden Action Committee say it's why they included "botanical garden''in their name. "There is no question Victoria Garden was set up to be abotanical garden by the British. We presented many documents to the MHCC to backour stand,'' says Hutokshi Rustomfram of the committee. Horticulturist MilindMokashi says, "Botanical gardens would not normally be adjoined with a zoo. Butloss of exotic trees in Rani Bagh would be a big one.''SwapnaPrabhu, the BNHS botanist who surveyed the gardens on behalf of the Save RaniBagh committee, says, "The term `rare' allows for ambiguity, which is perhapswhy Rani Bagh is not listed as a botanical garden with international bodies likethe International Union for Conservation of Nature. These trees are unlikely tobe seen elsewhere in India.''