Not so tree-fic: Illegal chopping rising in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: Residents of Ghosha Society in Thaltej were in for a shock on Tuesday. Instead of the lush green trees that attracted peacocks throughout the year, they were devastated to find three trees chopped at the base and around 15 trees trimmed so ruthlessly that barely any leaf-bearing branches survived.
Even as Ahmedabad city's green cover is falling rapidly, cases of illegal tree felling are rising, making the situation worse. The city civic body claims it has observed an increase in the number of citizen complaints over the last year. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation officials say, "Every month, we receive around 20 to 25 complaints related to illegal tree chopping and ruthless trimming. Most of these complaints are lodged by residents of societies located in western areas of the city."
AMC's figures reveal that in the past seven years, 400 trees were illegally chopped in the city. The highest number of illegal chopping cases, 100, was registered in 2021-22.
Ramkrishna Mistry, a 47-year-old resident of Ghosha Society, says, "There are 36 bungalows in our society. The residents are highly educated people like doctors, lawyers, architects, senior government officers, and entrepreneurs. On Tuesday, in our presence, a few members of the society destroyed at least 18 trees under the pretext of trimming and pruning them. When we raised an objection, they cited problems like falling of dry leaves, and the presence of monkeys and fruit bats to carry out the exercise."
He adds, "A few days ago, despite our protests, the same society members got a few asopalav trees, which were home to around 50-60 fruit bats, cut down." Following the Tuesday incident, the protesting residents filed a complaint with the AMC's parks and gardens department.
Department director, Jignesh Patel, confirmed that they had received a complaint from the residents. "We will send a team of officials to the society on Wednesday and verify the complaint. We will take appropriate action against the management of the society," Patel said, adding: "We are increasingly getting such complaints from societies in west Ahmedabad."