The Chennai Corporation is set to regulate tree planting in the city, including on private premises, to strengthen the strategy to increase tree cover from an estimated 26.6 sq. km to 61.75 sq. km.
A committee will be constituted to permit, assist and advise residents on the plantation of suitable tree species shortly.
A study of the tree cover in Teynampet zone has already started. Based on its results, the civic body, the consultant and the State government will expand the study to all 15 zones by August.
“Residents planting trees along roads and even private premises will have to get clearance from the Corporation. We are planning to achieve an average green cover of 9.5 sq. m per person in the city,” said an official.
The State government, with the support of NGOs, has conducted eight training sessions for Corporation officials after Cyclone Vardah. The consultant has started work on a detailed project report and a tree plantation strategy for the city. But the Corporation is yet to study the actual damage caused by Cyclone Vardah by accessing satellite data to analyse spatial patterns, sources said.
Corporation officials admitted they were yet to compare the satellite data before the cyclone and current data to find the exact reduction in green cover.
“A few private universities in the city have studied the green cover in 2015 and published research papers. But research after the cyclone is inadequate. We may have data on the damage to green cover only after the consultant completes the study in August,” said an official.
Corporation officials who studied some of the research papers on green cover in Chennai by private universities said the results of such studies were erroneous because of the poor literature survey and misleading data collected through government offices. Unless the data on tree cover in each of the 200 wards is generated accurately, the civic body will not be able to successfully improve tree cover on each street, they said.
The new study by the State government, with support of the Corporation, is expected to be comprehensive. “The regulations of tree plantation will be in place by August,” said an official.
