About 477 trees belonging to 30 different species on the proposed Kochi Metro Rail route will face the axe once the project becomes a reality.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is the project consultant and executing agency, will have to plant 10 times the number of trees, as done by it for the Delhi Metro Rail project.
About 4,770 saplings need to be planted in an area of 4.7 hectare, according to the final report on the environmental impact assessment and management plan for the project prepared by the School of Environmental Studies at the Cochin University of Science and Technology.
The estimate compensation for loss of trees located within 10 metre of the alignment is Rs. 4.5 lakh. A survey conducted by experts along the Alvua - Petta corridor of the project found that the major tree species include Coconut (132 nos), Peltaphorum ferrugineum (97 nos), Samanea saman (Rain tree, 53 nos), Mangifera indica (Mango tree, 46 nos) and Artocarpus integrifolia (Jack tree, 23).
Tectona grandis (Teak) is the only commercially valued tree in the locality which falls under the definition of the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986. Fifty four per cent of the tree population have girth greater than 70 cm. No rare or endangered species of trees were noticed during the field studies. It was also observed that no forest area exists along the alignment.
The report pointed out that the environmental damage could be compensated through afforestation by planting the trees in the ration of 1:10, development of green belt around the maintenance depot and development of green ribbon along the stretch of the track.
The DMRC should introduce appropriate mitigation measures towards minimising the impact of the project on the environment and the public. According to the report, removal of the existing structures for the construction of the elevated track would result in the generation of rubble, which has to be disposed off appropriately.
The report has recommended that the plantation of trees, as part of the afforestation, could be in the form of an arboretum (tree garden) of native species consisting of fruit yielding, ornamental and keystone species, semi-mangroves, those having botanical significance, phytomonitors, and those with biotechnology potential. The land suggested for the afforestation programme is the region lying towards the north of Mangalavanam. The proposed arboretum could become contiguous to Mangalavanam and can be developed as a tourism spot, the report said.
