A village panchayat in a southern suburb near Tambaram has chopped several fully-grown shade-giving trees over the past two days. The reason – they came in the way of a proposed ‘walkers pathway’ in a park.
While some trees were uprooted, most were chopped from Wednesday by workers hired by the Medavakkam Village Panchayat. The work received mixed response: a section of residents welcomed the rural local body’s decision while another group protested.
Vimala Nagar’s layout was created about 25 years ago and families that moved in planted saplings all over the neighbourhood as well as in the 50 cents of land earmarked as the mandatory ‘open space reserve.’ “When workers began chopping branches, we thought they were trimming it, but were shocked when we realised they were being chopped,” said a resident, who did not want to be named. “It is ironic that a local body wants to chop trees to develop a park. It could have created landscaping amidst the green cover,” he added.
B. Ravi, panchayat president, said a resolution to develop the park was passed by the council.
A sum of Rs. 15 lakh was earmarked under the self sufficiency scheme ‘namakku naame thittam’ for the park. As the trees came in the way of the proposed walkers’ path, they had no option but to chop them. Further, some residents had also complained that the roots of the massive trees were posing a danger to their homes’ foundations.
Environmentalists said the chopping was a clear violation of Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, especially provisions under it meant for protecting fully grown trees on government land. Mr. Ravi said that for every tree chopped, three saplings would be planted.