PANAJI
One of the oldest living Banyan trees, located within the vicinity of a housing society in St Inez, will be translocated to an alternate site with a rain tree to be uprooted as the Smart City works are underway.
The Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) on Thursday announced that the Forest Department has granted them and the Goa State Urban Development Agency permission to translocate the Banyan tree and remove the hazardous rain tree in St Inez for public safety.
“The forest department has authorised the GSUDA to remove a deteriorating rain tree, which poses a threat to adjacent structures, and to relocate a Banyan tree, currently obstructing progress on the smart road project in St Inez,” reads the public note by IPSCDL.
The translocation will be supervised by the Range Forest Officer and other officials as the entire process will be completed by April 15.
The agency stated that the Kamat Plaza Co-operative Housing Society Ltd had formally petitioned the relevant authorities to address the imminent threat posed by two trees to vehicular traffic, public safety and surrounding establishments. Their roots had allegedly been causing extensive damage to underground drinking pipelines and building structures.
To compensate for the felling of the rain tree, the agencies will plant tall saplings measuring at least 8-10 feet in height and 10 cm in diameter, to be positioned one metre above the ground level. Three tree saplings are to be planted for every tree removed, as per the government's decision.
The IPSCDL has also constituted an Advisory Committee to intensify green cover across Panaji which will involve planting around 500 trees equipped with geo-tagging functionality. The Committee led by the Chief General Manager of IPSCDL will have representatives from the City Corporation, horticulturist and member of Botanical Society of Goa Minguel Braganza; horticulturist and landscape designer Daniel D'Souza and Member of Nisarga Nature Club Sandeep Azrekar.
