Reckless felling of trees should be checked : The Tribune India

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Open House response: increasing green cover in Ludhiana

Reckless felling of trees should be checked

A family has a budget reserved for grocery, education, clothes etc. Similarly local, state and Central Government decide how much fund is to be allocated to which sector.

Reckless felling of trees should be checked

A vacant piece of land sans trees in Ludhiana. Tribune photo



A family has a budget reserved for grocery, education, clothes etc. Similarly local, state and Central Government decide how much fund is to be allocated to which sector. If the government decides to make Aadhaar card necessary, why not make planting one tree necessary. Not only Ludhiana but each area may be made green by following some methods. One family one tree (OFOT) norm should be made mandatory. That is each family should plant and nurture one tree, failing which some facilities may be withdrawn. Tree plantations week should be celebrated in each ward under the Municipal Corporation. Area with maximum number of trees should be honoured by giving some facilities to its residents in the form of park, parking facilities, watchman, etc. At district and state-level, van mahotsava be celebrated annually. Schoolchildren should be motivated to plant tree. Trees should be planted at roadsides.Saplings should be made available for free by the district administration. Chapters on the importance of trees should be included in the course curriculum of each class. By adopting such steps, we may think of a better future and life for the coming generations. Then there will not be any problem water or wood shortage.

Dr Mohd Saleem


Residents should be involved in plantation drives

Ludhiana, despite being the industrial hub of Punjab and home to the largest agricultural university in Asia, has the least amount of green cover. It also tops the list of the most-congested city in the country. Green cover is shrinking due to unplanned and rapid urbanisation. Concrete and asphalt have heat absorbing quality, but trees re-radiate it back into the atmosphere. Hot spots in the city are increasing, therefore, people are spending more on electricity to run their air-conditioners throughout the day and night. Due to non-availability of land for trees, there is a reduction in the green cover of the city as a result of which air pollution is increasing at a rapid rate, groundwater is depleting and there is an overall rise in the temperature of the city due to this concretisation. Current efforts to improve the green cover are often not carried out strategically. Experts from the PAU can advise right place and species. Random tree planting for the sake of publicity can’t bring out fruitful results because at the end of the day what matters is the number of trees we manage to sustain. Maintaining and pruning are as much important as plantation is. Uproar should be about planting more trees instead of cutting them. Tree plantation drives can only be successful if local residents get involved. It should be compulsory for each and every private and government educational institutions to have ECO clubs in which students and teachers should actively participate. NGOs and citizens must widely publicise and celebrate these drives as festivals. We must remember trees are an integral part of a sustainable city not an obstruction to development.

Er Pardeep Singh Bhamra


Colonies should be ordered to plant

The green cover seen in Ludhiana is usually in the PAU area, Army cantonment near Jagroan Bridge or Army cantonment in Dholewala. This is due to two reasons — the agriculture university has to have it, it’s their job and the Army maintains its surroundings well. Each colony has to be ordered to plant saplings and ensure their survival by frequent inspections. We don’t love trees, we are more obsessed with our houses and other luxury items. Each colonizer has given an undertaking for planting trees as per the GLADA norms.

Major Gurdeep S Samra


Expert help should be sought

There was a time when the industrial city sustained pleasant weather throughout the year, basically due to its lush greenery. However, because of the rampant constructions, increasing levels of pollution, rising population, continuously declining green space, the industrial city has become unlivable. Trees being cut, uprooted or falling victim to termite attacks is a common scenario and no one seems to pay heed to them. City residents are bearing the brunt of cutting full-grown trees in the name of developing the modern infrastructure despite the fact that trees are important biophysical element of the urban system which maintains the ecological process in the city. One must know that besides, housing supply, unemployment levels, pollution and infrastructures, green space is a factor that impacts the quality of life. Some of the world’s most livable cities such as Vienna provide public accessible green spaces. Vancouver, which has also been ranked in the top positions for livable cities, is now also aiming to be the “greenest city in the world by 2020”. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested that every city should have a minimum of 9 square metre of green space per person. The perceived socio-environmental findings also revealed that the urbanisation and population growth are the fundamental reasons for vegetation loss in the industrial city. A study across the whole population of a city also shows that those who lived closer to greener environments had 25 per cent lower all-cause death rates because it helps to enhance physical activity and also reduced obesity, noise level, physiological stress indicators, health inequalities, etc. In today’s context, bureaucratically developing the greeneries in a city like Ludhiana where urbanisation is happening at a rapid rate is a difficult task due to various factors. Therefore, encouraging the people’s active participation in planning, funding and maintaining the urban greeneries are the most appropriate way. Administrators must have to come up with a noble idea to encourage residents to plant trees on memorable occasions such as birthday and festivals. Regular meetings as well as seminars at administrative levels are also required to invite individuals, NGOs, residents’ associations and private organisations to plant saplings on corporation-owned roads, parks, playgrounds, hospitals, schools, river banks, open space reservation (OSR) lands and crematoriums. Furthermore, smart urban policies are needed to increase the use of appropriate or native tree and plant species and to reduce the presence of

noxious and invasive ones. Plant and tree professionals, advocacy groups, and government agencies can also facilitate sound plant selection and planting practices.

RAVI CHANDER GARG


Use CCTVs to check felling of trees

Humans are the best creation of God, but the same humans forget to take care of other beautiful creatures of the Almighty. Saving nature doesn’t mean only planting a sapling, the responsibility does not just finish here, in actual it starts from here. We cut trees to benefit ourselves but we forget that we are harming the nature and its species. We all need to pledge not to cut even a single tree or to harm any species. Trees are considered as environment purifier as the release oxygen and make the environment cooler. The sudden spurt in tree felling in Ludhiana is a matter of shame, but no action has been taken. Nowadays, corporations have installed CCTVs so that they can easily handle the things happening in the city. They can be used to curb such activities across the city. As Ludhiana is considered as an industrial city, there is a dire need to plant more trees and make it a green belt and control pollution.

DEEPALI


Establish green lawns in colonies

There is an urgent need to increase the green cover in the industrial city having a population of more than 16.2 lakh. The city houses a number of small and medium industries which heavily pollute the air. Increasing the green cover is an important step to purify the air and make the city safe for living. For this, a large number of shrubs and trees must be grown and greenery maintained wherever possible. The Municipal Corporation must plant shrubs and sapling on the vacant land available in the city. The Corporation must establish green lawns in all colonies and support them financially for the upkeep and maintenance. The education institutes in the city must participate in making the students in schools and colleges aware about the benefits of increasing the green cover. Different NGOs must also play their role in spreading the message about the advantages of green cover. The number of nurseries supplying plants must be increased and the availability of plants should be ensured at low price. These steps will go a long way in increasing the city’s green cover.

Dr G Dev, Kitchlu Nagar


Awareness seminars should be held

Due to the rapid growth of industries, cities have emerged as economic power houses. This rapid industrialisation has led to unplanned the development of urban areas by large-scale cutting of trees, converting agricultural lands into human habitation, etc. This has affected the ecological balance. Traffic congestion, water shortage, solid waste, air, water and noise pollution are common problems in the urban areas. Governing bodies should offer incentives to the public for involvement in urban greening projects and also corporate entities should be encouraged to take up greening as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes. While approving a colony, it should be mandatory to leave a green belt of four to five square kilometers between two colonies where a park or picnic spot can be developed. Drives such as giving free saplings to the religious places, malls and business organisations or schools should be started. Seminars or other programmes should be organised on regular intervals by councillors to create awareness.

Dr Jasdeep Kaur

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