Tree Count Up By 13% In Ahmedabad Dist; Density Still A Concern Tre e c ove r i n Ahmedabad district has grown by 13% in the last decade. The number of trees in the district — 58.52 lakh in 2003 — has increased to 66.41 lakh according to the tree count taken up earlier this year. The district, however, has a relatively low density of 8.3 trees per hectare. Ahmedabad district’s is the fourth lowest tree density. Only Surendranagar (2.77 tree/hectare), Kutch (6.40 tree/hectare), and Jamnagar (7.03 tree/hectare) have lower tree density than Ahmedabad. According to officials, the tree count has increased despite several industrial projects coming up in Sanand and nearby areas. The officials said they had feared that the count would be very low in Ahmedabad district because of several new industrial projects. However, initial reports were very encouraging. A senior official said that there was an increase in canal and lake side plantation. However, plantation along roads in the district has come down drastically. He said that widening of the several roads, like those to Bhavnagar, Viramgam and Sanand, have led to rampant tree cutting. These areas, near Nalsarovar and Thol, are considered to be the lungs of the district, because of the lakes and sanctuary status to both water bodies. Ahmedabad city has just six lakh trees and it is difficult to increase tree cover in the municipal corporation area, but easier in rural areas and areas outside city limits. “It is difficult to increase tree cover beyond a certain limit in municipal corporation areas. This can be compensated for, by increasing tree cover in the suburban areas,” said an official. Gujarat Urban Development Mission (GUDM) had launched Nagar Nandan Van Yojana to plant and distribute seedlings among people. The programme helped improve tree cover in several towns. Subsequently, the plan was extended to other towns, which resulted in tree cover growth in Ahmedabad, said an officer from the social forestry department.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 03:05:41 +0000
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