GUWAHATI, Oct 30 - Voluntary organisation Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) has demanded a legislation to check rampant felling and trimming of trees in Guwahati. It has drawn the attention of the State government and the other authorities concerned to the reported move of the Delhi government in this respect.
Only a strict regulation on cutting and pruning of trees, together with an arduous plantation drive, can save the city from the risk of the heat island phenomenon, said the organisation.
SGBG vice president Ajoy Dutta and general secretary Satyen Doloi said told this correspondent here today that the air pollution-related situation in Guwahati is becoming worse with every passing day because of various factors, including the growing vehicular emission. Felling and pruning of trees have been aggravating this problem.
In Guwahati, there is no regulation on cutting or trimming of trees. One may cut down or prune a tree on a whim. The developmental agencies are also playing very negative roles in this respect. The Forest Department is also turning a blind eye towards all such despicable activities.
Guwahati needs a detailed survey of its trees, covering both the public and private compounds. The plants should also be ascribed individual serial numbers.
The city needs a legislation to prevent all such activities that are related to its green cover. The trees on the private compounds should also be covered by this legislation.
Only the Forest Department should be entrusted with the tasks of cutting and pruning of the trees within the Guwahati Metropolitan Area (GMA) and before undertaking any tree felling or trimming job, the Forest Department shall have to consult an advisory board comprising environmental scientists, botanists, zoologists and groundwater/water quality experts. Only with such stringent measures, the existing green cover of the city could be saved for its posterity, said the SGBG office-bearers.
They pleaded for constant plantation drives along the city roads and on the public and private compounds to save the city from the heat island phenomenon, which is becoming more acute under the impact of the climate change phenomenon. The agencies involved even in slightly tampering with the green cover within the GMA area should be made accountable as well.
Besides, there should be a scientific afforestation programme for the city hills and riverfront, said the SGBG office-bearers.
And, for the owners of every private compound in the city, plantation of at least four plants like Bokul (Mimusops elengi), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Sewali (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis), Nahor (Indian rose chestnut), mango etc, should be made compulsory. Bamboo groves may also be developed by the households that can afford to do this, said Dutta and Doloi.
