Two trees axed; Chennai residents sound the alarm

A bully fig of america imagination to unrecorded arsenic agelong arsenic Methuselah did. Trees unrecorded that dream, immoderate adjacent outliving that poster lad for longevity, if they are allowed to. Last week, 2 trees connected PV Cherian Crescent Road successful Egmore were denied that “permission”. Count it among existential oddities that trees person to beryllium permitted by an artificial human-made satellite to realise the imaginable for longevity received unconditionally from Nature.

At PV Cherian Crescent Road, which derives its quietude successful nary tiny measurement from the trees lining it, the axe struck doubly past week, the archetypal clip connected December 7, reducing 1 monolithic histrion to a stump. According to a nonmigratory who wants to enactment anonymous, erstwhile the workers were questioned astir it, pat came the reply that the Corporation had ordered the manus that wielded the axe. With that explanation, residents who were disturbed by the cutting of the histrion assumed determination should beryllium a justification for the enactment and fto the substance rest. On December 12, the axe struck again, the Avenue’s arboreal wealthiness down by 1 much tree. 

“Two beauteous large trees with their canopy spreading from 1 broadside of the roadworthy to the other, were mercilessly felled. We present fearfulness the different trees astir present for years providing shade, volition beryllium soon gone too,” says M. Deepika, a nonmigratory of PV Cherian Crescent Road. 

The substance was present breathed to histrion conservation NGO Nizhal and the Chennai District Green Committee. As it turned out, the cutting of the 2 trees had not been authorised by Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). 

At the clip of this nonfiction going to press, a GCC authoritative acquainted with the developments said Corporation unit from the GCC’s parks section had gone to the tract to cod the good from the backstage entity who had had the trees cut. 

T.D. Babu, a subordinate of Chennai District Green Committee who is besides associated with Nizhal, said the cutting of these 2 trees was quality to the greenish committee. 

“GCC had not fixed support for the trees to beryllium cut. GCC oregon immoderate different section civic assemblage oregon authorities bureau managing a roadworthy (example: highways) cannot bid the felling of a histrion successful its roads, nary substance however justified the determination mightiness be, without archetypal presenting the lawsuit to the territory greenish committee and seeking its approval,” explains Babu. 

If this process is not followed, a line, a intelligibly etched greenish line, is crossed.

Babu continues: “The greenish committee had decided to penalise specified violators with of good of ₹ 1 lakh per tree. The mode builders and different commercialized establishments are violating the regularisation by bypassing the support process and getting distant with a penalty, I consciousness ₹ 1 lakh is excessively small. They, particularly builders and commercialized establishments, request impermanent suspension of the gathering task and suspension of commercialized licence beside dense punishment respectively. This volition bring them successful line. Similarly, backstage histrion cutters request to beryllium brought wrong a ringing of accountability. Every territory should place histrion cutters and person them registered and fixed licenses. Only these radical tin chopped the histrion upon approval. This volition assistance successful traceability, which is lacking.”

Back to PV Cherian Crescent Road, from immoderate was near of 1 of the trees that was captured connected camera, Babu identified it arsenic a rainfall tree, astir apt 70 years aged with considerably much years un-lived, ne'er to beryllium lived. In the arboreal world, its epitaph would work “struck down successful its prime.”