Greens see red over pruning of trees; depts pass on the buck

Hyderabad: ‘Unscientific’pruning of trees across different localities in the city by the Electricity Department is causing unease amongst the citizens, who are raising environmental concerns. Following chopping of the entire canopy and leaving part of the trunk to avert power outages, the forest, GHMC, and power departments are passing on the buck over accountability.

The pruning of trees near power cables, which should have been completed prior to the monsoon, continues unabated, even as these works are given to third party contractors. While in districts there are instances where the contractor of TGSPDCL has been penalised, in Hyderabad the issue is hard to crack. “The unscientific pruning of trees has been carried out almost everywhere across Telangana, but when it comes to the city, the departments of power and forest are passing on the buck. The Forest department, which should be taking action, is failing to act tough. The government should understand the environmental impact,” said Vinay Vangala, who has been fighting it out to ensure there is accountability when trees are chopped.

He said that recently, unscientific pruning was done in Madhapur near NIA Road, which was the second time within six months. “It is ironic that HYDRA is acting tough, citing environmental concerns, but the Power department remains unrestrained in the case of trees,” he lamented.

Meanwhile, the Vata Foundation also expressed concerns and held that ‘no protocol’ is being followed in the pruning of trees. P Uday Krishna, the founding trustee of the foundation, felt that there remains a major vacuum in addressing the environmental issues. He said that there are bodies like Tree Protection Committees involving all the stakeholders, but it has failed to fix the accountability. “The source of the issue is not being identified, and the trees are facing the wrath for power-related issues. Trees in the city remain vulnerable as proper procedure is not followed. A permanent solution for this problem is the need of the hour,” feels Uday.