CHANDIGARH: Declaration of 31 trees as
heritage trees led to a wave of cheer among the people who worked hard to this end. In May, members of NGO
Yuvsatta, Chandigarh Tree Lovers (CTL) and TOI joined hands to identify the oldest and most magnificent trees in Chandigarh.
But the fight for the preservation of these trees dates back to 2005. Chandigarh was expanding and these mature trees were in the way. To save them, the NGO Yuvsatta first planned the
Heritage Trees Project in 2005 in collaboration with the department of environment, Chandigarh administration.
During a survey, they found more than 1,000 trees in Chandigarh which could be given the status of heritage trees. But nothing much could be done then. "We identified hundreds of such trees. Meetings were organised and a board was formed to prepare recommendations but the project did not take off in the expected direction," said
Pramod Sharma, coordinator, Yuvsatta.
The efforts were revived this year. "I met home secretary Anurag Aggarwal and shared the concern for heritage trees, many of which were vulnerable to diseases and were dying. Sharing similar concerns, he looked at the report prepared initially. He felt it would not be feasible to declare so many trees as heritage trees and so asked if we could prepare a report on the oldest trees. It was then that we collaborated with CTL and TOI and identified 31 trees located in different places," Sharma said.
All members came together for the two-month exercise conducted in May and June and visited different trees in the early hours. "The efforts have finally paid off," said jubilant group members.
"We are very happy that our combined efforts have paid off and the trees have got their due status. We will be happier if people in general respect not only heritage trees but all the others as well," said Shelly Mathur, Member CTL.
"The entire CTL team is elated at the heritage status. We, as a team, will work to maintain this status and add more trees in the days to come," said
Manu Dheeraj Vohra, member, CTL.
