Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation to rope in 10,000 families as part of tree-planting drive

In an effort to increase the green cover in the satellite city, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has chalked out a unique plan through which it will get the local community involved. The civic body has introduced two new schemes — Ananda Bruksha and Smriti Bruksha, through which they plan to get as many as 10,000 families involved in their green initiatives.

Under the first scheme, a family will be able to plant a sapling in the city to mark any special event like a wedding, birth of a baby or a marriage anniversary.

“We will provide them with a sapling and a metal board where a family will write the details of the occasion. We will ensure that that board is there even when the sapling turns into a full-grown tree. The place of plantation will be decided by us,” said Nitin Kale, deputy municipal commissioner of NMMC (garden and tree authority).

“Later, the family will be able to refresh their memories by visiting the tree on the anniversary of that special event. Since saplings will be planted to mark a happy occasion, we have named this scheme as Ananda Bruksha,” he said.

Through the second scheme, Smriti Bruksha, a family will plant a sapling in memory of a family member who has passed away.

Kale said, “We have kept 10,000 saplings for these two schemes and will charge families a nominal amount to plant a sapling. The money collected will be used to buy new saplings and to make the metal boards on which the families will mention their special occasions. The amount will be decided soon.”

The NMMC is planning to plant a total of one lakh saplings during this monsoon season. The civic body, in association with the forest department, has decided to plant 25,000 saplings at Rabale, Airoli, and Digha.

“Likewise, we are planting 15,000 saplings at Vashi, Sanpada and near the Jewel of Navi Mumbai Park at Nerul. The work has already been started at these places,” Kale said.

The civic body has also decided to plant saplings on the dividers of the Sion-Panvel Highway, the work for which will begin in the next few days.

“Apart from these plans, we have kept another 50,000 saplings at three nurseries. Quite a few non-governmental organisations and other associations had approached us last year to plant saplings during the season. If any NGO or association comes to us this year, we will give them these saplings for planting at certain locations. Otherwise, we will plant them on our own,” Kale said.

The city of Navi Mumbai has lost hundreds of trees over the past five years for a variety of reasons. While many died due to attacks from insects, environmental activists believe that some were intentionally injected with poison by some culprits with vested interests.

Several fully-grown trees have also fallen due to the incessant rains. So far this year, over 75 trees fell during the rains.

Environmentalists across the city have lauded the NMMC’s move to plant more trees. Rajan Chavan, 45, an environmentalist from Seawoods, said, “We are glad the NMMC is taking efforts to increase the green cover in the city. It should also pay attention to the large amounts of land that are now being encroached. Most of such land cannot be used for construction purposes, and it would be easy to convert it into green cover.”