Thousands of trees felled in the name of development in Ahmedabad, serious crisis for environment

A serious risk to the environment has emerged alongside the pace of development in Ahmedabad city. According to a report by TV9 Gujarati, the megacity of Ahmedabad is now turning into a concrete jungle. In the past, thousands of lush green trees have been sacrificed for the construction of BRTS, Metro, and now the Bullet Train project, in addition to various bridges, roads, and government buildings. For these developmental works, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) grants permission to cut 3 thousand to 5 thousand large trees every year.

Figures from the last five years of the AMC's Parks and Gardens Department make it clear that a total of 3,484 trees have been cut down during this period. Against this, transplantation of only 676 trees could be achieved. Specifically, in large projects such as the Railway and Bullet Train, not a single tree has been transplanted. Additionally, allegations are being made that many trees were not recorded in the AMC's records, yet they were cut down in the name of projects.

On one hand, permission is being granted to cut trees, while on the other hand, AMC officials claim to have planted more than one crore trees in the last five years under "Mission Million Trees". However, a major question has now arisen as to where the high-tech tree transplant machine, purchased by the AMC at a cost of crores of rupees, is currently located and why it is not being used? Had this machine been used properly, the transplantation figure would certainly have been better.

Fear has been expressed that if this pace of cutting trees continues, residents of Ahmedabad will face difficulties in obtaining pure oxygen in the coming times. Maintaining a balance between development and environment has now become an urgent need of the hour.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was the local self-government body responsible for the administration of Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat. This institution was responsible for tasks such as city planning, infrastructure facilities, and environmental maintenance, and it granted permissions for the implementation of various development-oriented projects.