Fwd: Oppose BMC's plan to fell 'diseased' Rani Bagh trees (261)
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Tejal Dhulla Vishweshwar
Mar 28, 2008, 10:10:28 AM3/28/08
to indiantreepix, WildFlo...@yahoogroups.com, savera...@yahoo.co.in
Dear all,
The trees of the Rani Bagh Botonical Garden in Byculla are in great danger & require your support. Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Action Committee, formed by a group of individuals are protesting the move. Please check the forwarded message & www.saveranibagh.org ACT NOW!! Sign the online petition to stop the concerned authorities from taking any heinous step.
Regards,
Tejal Dhulla Vishweshwar
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: savera...@yahoo.co.in <savera...@yahoo.co.in>
Date: Mar 28, 2008 1:30 PM
Subject: Oppose BMC's plan to fell 'diseased' Rani Bagh trees (261)
To: tejal...@gmail.com
Dear Tejal Dhulla Vishweshwar,
As the list of signatories to the on-line petition, Save trees and safeguard accessibility of Rani Bagh Botanical Garden, Mumbai grows, we periodically forward it to the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner, the Superintendent of Gardens, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
With the Additional Municipal Commissioner repeatedly declaring that "diseased trees" will be felled as part of the 'makeover', the fate of Mumbai's beloved Rani Bagh remains uncertain.
A brief update:
1. As it is mandatory for all zoos to seek approval for any renovation from the Central Zoo Authority, (a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests), we exerted sustained pressure on them to reject the Master Plan for the Rani Bagh 'makeover'. In early January 2008 we acquired under the Right to Information Act an evaluation report of the Master Plan submitted by the CZA expert team consisting of S.K. Patnaik and Dr. Rommel Mehta (link to scanned report on home page). This report categorically states that the botanical garden will be destroyed if the Master Plan is implemented, thus amply vindicating our stand.
2. Shockingly, despite the scathing Patnaik-Mehta evaluation report, mentioned above, the CZA has chosen to "approve" the Master Plan on the condition that "no vegetation including trees, shrubs and creepers" be "felled/removed/transplanted" (link to scanned CZA letter on home page). Whereas, on the face of it, this condition is a partial victory for us concerned citizens, the BMC has sought to devise a new plan to pursue its agenda. Attempting to circumvent the prohibition to cut even a single tree, the Additional Municipal Commissioner has now declared that "diseased" trees will be cut during the 'makeover'.
3. The CZA ought to have relied on the highly critical Patnaik-Mehta evaluation report to reject the dangerous Master Plan. It has, instead, chosen to abdicate its duty by issuing a conditional approval, thereby gravely endangering a 147-year old heritage botanical garden with a luxuriant tree cover of 3,170 trees. We have asked that a health check of the entire precinct be conducted by an independent body (Forest Research Institute/Botanical Survey of India/BNHS) and call on our signatories to oppose this alarming new stand taken by the BMC. A range of city environmentalists and nature lovers have joined us in exposing and condemning the BMC's "diseased" trees stance.
4. Environmental bodies like the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), WWF-India, Sanctuary Asia, National Society of the Friends of the Trees (FOT), Conservation Action Trust (CAT) and Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG) have extended valuable support through their newsletters, magazines and websites, addressed joint press meets and issued press statements to preserve the botanical park.
5. We continue with awareness generation through free Rani Bagh nature trails, education programmes and through the media. Efforts to obtain relevant documents under the Right to Information Act (RTI) from the CZA, the Municipal Commissioner, the Garden Superintendent and the Tree Authority have yielded some data; however the crucial Master Plan for the 'makeover' has still been withheld.
Our struggle to make the Master Plan public and to have a public hearing on the proposed 'makeover' continues. We urge you once again to spread the word that trees are likely to be felled after being branded "diseased" and to circulate the details of our on-line petition amongst friends and colleagues who have not signed it at www.saveranibagh.org.
Thank you for your support.
For Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Action Committee
Hutoxi Arethna, Neelima Kalgi, Katie Bagli, Dr. Sheila Tanna, Renee Vyas, Hutokshi Rustomfram, Shubhada Nikharge, Nita Deb, Ajay Bijoor
As the list of signatories to the on-line petition, Save trees and safeguard accessibility of Rani Bagh Botanical Garden, Mumbai grows, we periodically forward it to the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner, the Superintendent of Gardens, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
With the Additional Municipal Commissioner repeatedly declaring that "diseased trees" will be felled as part of the 'makeover', the fate of Mumbai's beloved Rani Bagh remains uncertain.
A brief update:
1. As it is mandatory for all zoos to seek approval for any renovation from the Central Zoo Authority, (a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests), we exerted sustained pressure on them to reject the Master Plan for the Rani Bagh 'makeover'. In early January 2008 we acquired under the Right to Information Act an evaluation report of the Master Plan submitted by the CZA expert team consisting of S.K. Patnaik and Dr. Rommel Mehta (link to scanned report on home page). This report categorically states that the botanical garden will be destroyed if the Master Plan is implemented, thus amply vindicating our stand.
2. Shockingly, despite the scathing Patnaik-Mehta evaluation report, mentioned above, the CZA has chosen to "approve" the Master Plan on the condition that "no vegetation including trees, shrubs and creepers" be "felled/removed/transplanted" (link to scanned CZA letter on home page). Whereas, on the face of it, this condition is a partial victory for us concerned citizens, the BMC has sought to devise a new plan to pursue its agenda. Attempting to circumvent the prohibition to cut even a single tree, the Additional Municipal Commissioner has now declared that "diseased" trees will be cut during the 'makeover'.
3. The CZA ought to have relied on the highly critical Patnaik-Mehta evaluation report to reject the dangerous Master Plan. It has, instead, chosen to abdicate its duty by issuing a conditional approval, thereby gravely endangering a 147-year old heritage botanical garden with a luxuriant tree cover of 3,170 trees. We have asked that a health check of the entire precinct be conducted by an independent body (Forest Research Institute/Botanical Survey of India/BNHS) and call on our signatories to oppose this alarming new stand taken by the BMC. A range of city environmentalists and nature lovers have joined us in exposing and condemning the BMC's "diseased" trees stance.
4. Environmental bodies like the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), WWF-India, Sanctuary Asia, National Society of the Friends of the Trees (FOT), Conservation Action Trust (CAT) and Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG) have extended valuable support through their newsletters, magazines and websites, addressed joint press meets and issued press statements to preserve the botanical park.
5. We continue with awareness generation through free Rani Bagh nature trails, education programmes and through the media. Efforts to obtain relevant documents under the Right to Information Act (RTI) from the CZA, the Municipal Commissioner, the Garden Superintendent and the Tree Authority have yielded some data; however the crucial Master Plan for the 'makeover' has still been withheld.
Our struggle to make the Master Plan public and to have a public hearing on the proposed 'makeover' continues. We urge you once again to spread the word that trees are likely to be felled after being branded "diseased" and to circulate the details of our on-line petition amongst friends and colleagues who have not signed it at www.saveranibagh.org.
Thank you for your support.
For Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Action Committee
Hutoxi Arethna, Neelima Kalgi, Katie Bagli, Dr. Sheila Tanna, Renee Vyas, Hutokshi Rustomfram, Shubhada Nikharge, Nita Deb, Ajay Bijoor
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