GMCH seeks nod to chop 294trees, 21 of them for PM visit

Nagpur: The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has sought permission to cut 294 trees on its campus for the three proposed projects including platinum jubilee celebration of the hospital, paying ward and a new hostel.
One of the applications states that at least 21 trees — mostly Ashoka and Neem — need to be chopped for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the hospital for the platinum jubilee celebration.

Apart from this, the GMCH has also submitted another application seeking chopping of more than 200 trees for setting up of a new treatment facility for leprosy patients.
NMC garden superintendent Amol Chaurpagar confirmed this and said that the NMC has received applications from the GMCH seeking permission to chop over 400 trees by submitting three different applications.
“However, after spot inspection, we reduced the number to 294 and succeeded in saving over 100 trees,” Chaurpagar claimed.
“The NMC’s tree authority committee headed by chairman and municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B will take a decision on these applications next week,” said Chaurpagar. The NMC has published an advertisement in this regard in local newspapers.
The first application sought permission to chop 21 trees for the platinum jubilee celebration of the GMCH in December this year. The application states that these trees were obstructing the pre-planning of the PM’s programme.
Permission has also been sought to chop 86 trees for constructing an 80-room paying ward. Another application asked for cutting 187 trees to pave way for a new girls’ hostel, having 400 rooms, for undergraduate students.
The green activists, however, questioned the NMC’s standing in deciding over the applications. Green activist Sachin Khobragade, who was also a former member of the local tree authority, claimed that the NMC cannot entertain GMCH’s application to cut trees.
“According to Maharashtra (urban area) Protection and Conservation of Tree Act 1975 clause 8, which was amended on August 6, 2021, local tree authority can decide only on applications seeking permission to chop less than 200 trees. Only the state tree authority can take a call if more than 200 trees are proposed to be cut. If the local tree authority receives an application from any individual or institution, like GMCH, to cut more than 200 trees, then it should forward application to state tree authority,” Khobragade said.
But to evade the state tree authority, the proposals to chop trees at GMCH were divided into three applications, Khobragade alleged.
According to Khobragade, even before getting the nod from the NMC tree authority, illegal felling of trees has already started at the GMCH. “Recently, three heritage trees adjacent to Rajabaksha Dargah, were found chopped illegally,” he pointed out.
Cutting many heritage trees beforehand, and applying only for four to five trees is a conspiracy by GMCH in collaboration with NMC’s garden department, activists alleged.
Chaurpagar too confirmed Khobragade’s complaint about felling of old trees inside the GMCH campus. The NMC’s garden department has already started an inquiry into this, he said.