Mumbai: Considering rising temperatures in the city, Mumbai suburban guardian minister Ashish Shelar has instructed Saurabh Katiyar, the district collector, to prepare a plan for planting trees on 65 acres in the Aarey Colony during the monsoon this year.
On Monday, Shelar conducted an inspection at the colony, visiting various government offices to understand their functioning and assess whether any assistance could be provided through district planning, a press note issued by the minister said. He reviewed if these authorities had vacant land and, if so, how many trees could be planted on such land. Subsequently, he directed Katiyar and officials from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to maintain records and prepare a comprehensive plan detailing the number of trees that could be planted, which species should be selected, and whether Miyawaki forests could be developed in certain areas. Shelar also instructed that an action plan be prepared to enhance the density of the Aarey forest.
The locations visited by Shelar included the Goregaon Veterinary Hospital, Mahanand Dairy headquarters, the State Reserve Police Force Group No. 8 and Force 1 offices, the Agro Industries Development Corporation office, the Animal Husbandry Quality Control Laboratory, the Central Poultry Development Organisation, and the Modern Bakery campus.
Under Mission Green Maharashtra, three billion indigenous trees will be planted across the state over the next five years, starting with 200 million trees this year, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced in February. Preliminary observations from Shelar’s visit to Aarey on Monday indicate that around 65 acres of land under government establishments could be made available for tree plantation and help achieve the 3-billion target.
Shelar also instructed officials to examine whether tree plantation could be carried out on the vacant land where Metro Bhavan was to come up earlier, the press note issued by Shelar said.
