Pay Rs 28K to cut a tree - Govt. of Delhi's Initiative

[KANNA KUMAR SIRIPURAPU]

Thu, Feb 25 05:32 PM

The Delhi government has decided to increase the security deposit for cutting a tree from Rs 1,000 to Rs 28,000. The state cabinet approved the changes on Wednesday.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit said she hoped it would discourage people from cutting trees unnecessarily.

As of now, people who want to cut a tree are required to take permission and then deposit Rs 1,000 per tree as security money, which is refunded after they plant 10 trees for each one they cut.

According to an environment department official, it costs nearly Rs 2,500 to plant one sapling and people prefer to forefeit the security deposit rather than planting 10 trees.

Applicants wishing to cut a tree will now have to deposit Rs 28,000 as the security money and this will be split into two categories, said an official.

" Half of it would be given to the forest department that will replant five of the 10 trees required to be planted. The remaining half would be refunded to the applicant after he plants the five trees," the official added.

Dikshit said it was becoming difficult to ensure that the trees being cut were replaced as per the law.

"Because of non- availability of land, meagre amount of security and the inadequacy of monitoring mechanism, it was becoming difficult to ensure compensatory plantation," she said.

Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. MTNPL. All rights reserved. http://in.news.yahoo.com/248/20100225/1582/tnl-now-pay-rs-28k-to-cu...

Its a commendable initiative, from my own experiences in Visakhapatnam, where the shop owners deliberately knocked huge trees in my neighborhood in the pretext that the name boards of their shops are not clearly visible! Oh! I was shell shocked when I ve learned this. I called the forest department and the local media but in vain! This initiative should be extended to all the places to deter people from wanton destruction.  

[Sonia Jose]

Finally, that is one good news to listen to! I think that we need more of such small but strong steps in our path to achieve sustainability. Initiatives like these are sure to bring about a slow, but steady and positive social change towards conserving our precious natural resources. At this point, I would also like to urge that we educate and empower every community, however big or small, working for any cause whatsoever, to voluntarily or otherwise take up and promote at least one such initiative, so that they later on grow to be strong pillars and pathways to what I strongly believe, is sustainability. A few examples of such initiatives could be: 1. A local residents' association promoting kitchen gardens or even small homestead farms among all their member families, 2. Promoting the idea of planting or sponsoring at least one tree sapling per household- which can be linked to larger plantation/ afforestation campaigns if need be, 3. Developing and maintaining a local park using locally available plants & trees and utilizing the service of local manpower resources, 4. Training homemakers in maintaining small vermicompost bins to convert their foodwaste into a useful resource, 5. Assisting the setting up of small self help groups to make paper bags and cloth bags, etc etc..

[pawan kumar]

I am not agree with this. Increase in punishment is not the solution. There are lots of legal punishment provisions available in our constitution but the reality is different how many are actually implimented. Tree plantation on common/ government propertise can be linked with some incentive / promotion etc for government as well as private organizations. For example, the government school who will plant and maintain certain number of tree for two to three years ( or up to the height of 3 meter) , the school teachers will get some monetory benefits / donation etc. The saem can be linked with private institutions, individuals etc

[KANNA KUMAR SIRIPURAPU]

I wonder when we stop thinking only in monetary terms and start to think at a different level! I was wondering while I was going on my morning walk along the banks of River Mahanadi today, I saw atleast 25 spp. of birds chirping and all of sudden I trembled at the reality that they will go extinct locally in a matter of years as Bubaneswar is on expanding spree. Thousands of huge trees were already knocked for road expansion and its very hilarious townships are now popping up like mushrooms right on the banks of the river!
I don't understand the logic behind estimating net value of standing forest and then ask the industries to pay for CAMPA, its a funny thing! take for example these birds who will lose their perch for building nests, can they wait to breed until the Govt. implement CAMPA and the plants to grow into tress and then build nest and raise their chicks! Why their loss is not considered and calculated? what is the cost of that? I personally feel, until interpretation in economic terms stops and people really understand that there is more than just economics and money, only then can we expect a change, else lets leave every thing to nature and let it take its own course. What do you say????