BMC Tree Census Claims That Mumbai Has 20% More Trees, But Is It Really True?

For citizens of Mumbai it might come as a surprise that the city famous for being a concrete jungle is actually becoming a green jungle. According to the recent Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Environment Status Report the number of trees in the city has increased from 24,11,508 to 29,89,654 which is a staggering 20% rise. They determined that the majority of this growth is contained to the N Ward which is comprised of Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Pant Nagar and Vidyavihar. Conversely the least growth was seen in the C Ward which includes Marine Lines and Kalbadevi. The census albeit true should be consumed with a pinch of scepticism.

The census was put on hold during the monsoons and will resume soon, surveying four more of the 24 civic wards. “They expect nothing but good news from the remaining results and Jitendra Pardeshi, superintendent of gardens says ‘There has been an increase of another 5,000 trees from five more wards.’ The full count should be in by the end of the year so the margin of improvement should soon be clear,” reported Hindustan Times.

According to the report the explosion in the tree count can be attributed to the sapling plantation drives around the Aarey Milk Colony, Goregaon. This area had been excluded from last year’s census and clearly it has made all the difference. The positive results end there for some people. Many believe that the BMC has had no actual hand in the better numbers.

Stalin Dayanad, an environmental activist and project director with Vanashakti, has filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal to include Aarey in the Forest land category. “The tree cover has risen because for the first time Aarey colony has been included in the census. The inclusion of over 3000 acres and 5 lakh trees has given a push to the BMC numbers.We filed a case and the High Court took the notice, BMC has taken over a year to cover the area. The agency has used GPS and geotagged every tree and now we have the complete data of every tree in Aarey. In fact, the city has lost over 3000 trees in the last three years which has been a very bad time for trees.”

The unchecked addition of concrete to our roads, the construction work and the industrial belts in Vikhroli to Thane and projects in Goregaon have killed many trees. Aarey Colony officially becomes a forest area with so many trees. I agree with the BMC figures but they don’t have a hand in planting them or the increase in the numbers. I feel the city will lose 50% of its tree cover in the next two to three years because of lack of water and moisture being sucked out due to the concrete. Indian trees are tough and survive longer but will start dying soon,” he said.

The Hindustan Times report said that the BMC plans on planting one lakh trees by next year and says it has been actively working to improve the conditions of the existing trees. The fire department has said that they received a complaint of 1200 tree falls in this monsoon alone while 550 trees being actually classified as tree falls. On the matters of jungles, the city experts have their own concrete views.

Words: Preksha Malu