Restoration of green cover on wide stretches in Vellore begins
The Hindu
VELLORE
The wide re-laid stretches in the Vellore Corporation limits are set to get their green cover back as the civic body has started planting saplings.
Civic officials said trees on these stretches were uprooted for laying of pipelines for the underground sewerage system that was executed under the Union government’s AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme. These stretches were also dug up for laying ducts for telephone and internet cables and water pipelines. These projects were done for nearly a decade. The work under the National Smart Cities Mission started in 2018. As a result, residents of these streets were deprived of tree shade.
“Initially, the civic body will maintain these saplings. Later residents will take care of those planted in front of their houses,” Corporation Commissioner P. Ashok Kumar told The Hindu.
To involve residents in the initiative, the Corporation has decided to plant species like ‘magilam’ (Maulsari) and ‘punnai’ (Calophyllum inophyllum). These species are small, shiny, thick, with pointed leaves, straight trunk and spreading branches. They also occupy less space and do not protrude into the houses. Also, the civic body plans to plant tree species that shed less leaves to ensure the streets are free from green waste. Tall tree varieties are avoided to prevent damage to overhead power cables.
Most of the saplings are being planted on stretches that are at least 40 feet wide. Such wide stretches can accommodate treeswithout obstructing traffic flow. Around 75-80 stretches are 40 feet wide, most of them located in Katpadi, Sathuvachari and Rangapuram. The civic body has procured around 600 saplings from nurseries of the Forest Department. Each sapling is being planted at a gap of 5-6 metres to ensure that the roots are not affected. Saplings are planted on both sides of the stretches. Tree guards are also provided to shield the saplings from damage.
Some of the other plant varieties includes ‘vaagai’ (Albizia lebbeck), ‘vembu’ (Azadirachta indica), ‘mantharai’ (Bauhinia purpurea), ‘kalyana murungai’ (Erythrina variegata) and ‘arasamaram’ (Ficus religiosa), guava and ‘naval’ tree.