GCC partners with Forest Department for urban greening drive

The Forest Department has already planted 8,000 saplings as part of the drive.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has partnered with the Forest Department to start a drive for urban greening this northeast monsoon and launch a tree census after Pongal.

Following a meeting between the GCC and Forest Department on Tuesday, the work to plant indigenous flowering plants, shrubs, and trees will be taken up at all road medians, traffic islands, and Open Space Reservation (OSR) lands and spaces along roads. At the meeting, GCC Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran and Chennai District Forest Officer V.A. Saravanan discussed various strategies to promote urban greening projects and launch a tree census in January.

Mr. Saravanan said the green cover in Chennai was around 6% and the GCC had partnered with the department for urban greening. “We will plant 12,000 saplings on road medians, roadside parks, and traffic islands. We will maintain the saplings for one month. We have already planted 8,000 saplings in 20 days after the onset of the northeast monsoon. The remaining saplings will be planted in a few days. The median along highways will also get better green cover,” he said.

The bus route road department of the GCC maintains road medians along 173 stretches. Water from the sewage treatment plant from Koyambedu will be used to maintain the plants on the median. All traffic islands and OSR lands will also get indigenous trees, shrubs, and plants. Once the tree census is taken up, new strategies for sustainable urban greening will be implemented, officials said.

Anna Nagar councillor T.V. Shemmozhi said residents had demanded an increase in manpower and machinery for watering saplings in each of the wards.