Pruning, beautification hack into Kolkata’s green cover

KOLKATA: Full-grown trees are being butchered across the city in the name of construction, pavement beautification or pruning exercises. In some areas, trees are being chopped to ensure unhindered access to overhead cable lines. In most cases, however, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation parks department officials are either in the dark about it or have turned a blind eye to the problem as they don’t want to confront a section of councillors or political leaders who have been part of the tree-felling exercise.

In Beliaghata, large number of trees planted along the pavement are being chopped to facilitate beautification of pavements. The pavements are being re-laid with expensive paver blocks and these are being decorated with designer lights, benches or statues. A visit to CIT Road (Beliaghata) that leads to Phoolbagan revealed that some of the full-grown trees along pavements have been felled to create space for decorative benches or lights.




Sudhir Dutta, a resident of CIT Road and a businessman, complained that all requests to spare these trees had fallen on deaf ears.

“We asked a contractor engaged in the pavement beautification in our area to show relevant papers for felling the trees. He could not show any, but advised us to meet the local councillor. We went to him with the plea to spare the trees, but were told that the KMC had taken up the beautification project for the benefit of the local residents,” Dutta alleged.

A large number of tress are also being sacrificed in the name of trimming. A visit to the locality revealed large branches of species like kadam, sirish, bakul and banyan lying on the pavement. Local resident Sudenshna Ghosh, a teacher, felt that the branches were being chopped to allow local cable network firms to string up overhead cable lines without obstacles. “We can understand the motive behind chopping wide, large branches of full grown trees, but we have no option but to stay silent as these men are influential and politically well connected,” Ghosh explained.

Local Trinamool councillor Pabitra Biswas, however, said that only a few trees needed to be felled for the various beautification projects that were sanctioned by the civic authorities. “We had to obtain permission for felling a few trees. We also needed to trim a large number of trees,” Biswas said.

Elsewhere in the city, too, TOI found evidence of tree-felling. A full-grown krishnachura was chopped up near 8B bus stand in Jadavpur, allegedly to create space for a hawker rehabilitation programme.

Similarly, a century-old banyan tree was felled on Deshapran Sashmal Road in front of a reputable club. When asked, the contractor engaged with the operation said the tree needed to be felled as it was infected with fungus and posed a threat to pedestrians.