NMC to plant, maintain trees under cement road phase-III

Nagpur: Learning lessons from past mistakes, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to plant as well as maintain trees along roads proposed to be concretized under cement concrete road project phase-III. Water conservation activities too have been incorporated in the project.
NMC chief engineer Ulhas Debadwar told TOI provision of planting and maintaining trees in phase-III has been made in the contract itself. “It will be mandatory for contractors to ensure its compliance and responsibility on the engineers for execution and monitoring. I had arranged a meeting couple of days ago and directed all concerned to ensure cent per cent compliance,” he said.

Executive engineer MG Kukreja said contractors executing cement concrete road works will plant and maintain trees for one year. “Space will be left for planting trees every six metres. Space between two plants can increase up to 10 metres in some stretches. Well grown sapling will be planted,” he said.

Kukreja added 1x1 metre space will be left around existing trees under the project. “Survey and pre-execution works under the project have already been been completed. Concretization work will kick-off within a week,” he said.

Under phase-III project, costing Rs237.28 crore, 42 roads with a length of 42km in 10 packages are to be concretized.

No provision for trees was made by the civic body under its Rs324 crore-cement concrete road project phase-II. Thus, 51 roads with a length of 68km under the project are not having any space for planting trees on both sides. Only 1x1 metre space is left around the existing trees.

Activist Shrikant Deshpande took up the issue with Debadwar and other NMC engineers who incorporated the provision in phase-III.

Deshpande said NMC will also ensure bores in every 50 metre on cement roads under phase-III for rainwater conservation. “Each bore will be 20 feet deep and eight inch in diameter. Bores will help in percolation of rainwater and its conservation. This provision has been made following my efforts,” he said.

Debadwar also said efforts will be made to make space for planting trees on concretized roads under phase-II. “We have directed the contractors to plant trees wherever possible. A plan will be prepared to make spaces wherever possible on roads already concretized under phase-II,” he said.