The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will launch a programme to plant saplings on the open plots owned by public institutions for free.Chief garden superintendent Bhanudas Mane said that the civic body has planned various initiatives to enhance the greenery in the city. “The garden department will plant saplings on the vacant plots of public institutions for free. In return, the institution has to protect the saplings and nurture them till they are full-grown trees,” said Mane. He said the civic body will issue an appeal where public institutions will be asked to participate in the drive. “The civic body will rope in various mandals and organisations to help its staff planting saplings. We will appeal to educational institutions to participate in the drive and tell the civic body about vacant plots available for plantation,” said Mane. The city has about 2,500 acres of land available for plantation. Of this, around 70 per cent is reserved and allocated for the joint forest management project. Around 987.5 acres belong to the forest department, while 812.5 acres is with the civic body. Much of this land has been encroached on. Green activists have sought action against illegal constructions on lands identified for bio-diversity parks with Green Pune Movement members urging the civic body to curb the illegal constructions. They are also concerned about the loss of green cover if mass transit projects like the metro rail are pushed through. The Environmental Impact Assessment and Management (EIAM) survey for the metro estimates the lopping off of about 685 trees in the first first phase of the project. “Development should not take a toll of the city’s lungs. The civic body should ensure that the green spaces in the city are protected. The city is already experiencing a rise in temperature due to heavy tree-cutting,” said Vijay Kumbhar of Surajya Sangharash Samiti . “The civic body is prepared to launch new programmes to protect the greenery in the city. At present, the tree census is on and by Mayend we are expecting a full report. We will then decide on the new policies and plans to increase the green cover in the city,” said civic tree officer Balasaheb Jagzap.
HOW GREEN IS PUNE
• Pune has 11.07 per cent of forest cover.
• Land available for plantation is 2,500 acres
• 70 % land reserved under joint forest management project
• 987.5 acres are under forest department control
• 812.5 acres are with the PMC
STATE FIGURES
• The total area under forest cover in Pune is 1,732 sq km and includes 757 sq km of moderately dense forest and 975 sq km of open forest.
• Forest cover in Maharashtra is 50,650 sq km, that is 16.46 per cent of the total geographical area of the state. Vidarbha: 56% Western Maharashtra: 39% Marathwada: 5%
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1 comment:
the 2500 acres land that you have quoted above as available for plantation; is there any source available from we can confirm that
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