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Trees nailed as officials torpid
A large number of trees across the state are crying for attention with businessmen nailing and screwing them while putting up sign boards. In fact, nailing and screwing of any sort of sign boards onto the trees is a punishable offence. According to the Forest Act, the trees have several safeguarding rights. However, due to the lack of the enforcement and negligence of the civic authorities, a lar
Visakhapatnam: A large number of trees across the state are crying for attention with businessmen nailing and screwing them while putting up sign boards. In fact, nailing and screwing of any sort of sign boards onto the trees is a punishable offence. According to the Forest Act, the trees have several safeguarding rights. However, due to the lack of the enforcement and negligence of the civic authorities, a large number of people are violating the rules.
There are several NGOs which have been working on the issue at various places. In Kerala, some of the students wrote a letter to the High Court judges in January 2011 urging them to save the trees from damages caused due to nailing and screwing.
Highlights:
- According to the Forest Act, the trees have several safeguarding rights
- But due to lack of the enforcement and negligence of the civic authorities, a large number of people are violating the rules
Taking up the letter on a priority basis, the Kerala High Court directed the authorities to remove all such sign boards thus, preventing damage to trees. The High Court also directed the government to ban the practice of the nailing the trees for displaying of advertisement boards. The civic bodies like panchayats, nagara panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations should take action against such violators.
Meanwhile, the officials of the forest department also equal responsibility to prevent such violations. However, some of the senior officials of the department, who are not having knowledge, said that as there was no ban on cutting of the ornamental trees, people could nail and screw the sign boards onto the trees.
Though the state government has been giving top priority for plantation to make Andhra Pradesh as a Haritha Andhra Pradesh, not taking any steps to prevent the nailing the trees. Surprisingly, even on the plantation programmes also no official reviews conducted for removal of the sign boards on the trees.
“In fact, several officials are not aware of the rights of the trees. The local bodies should remove the sign boards immediately. The officials of municipalities and municipal corporations are levying penal amounts against the violators who are putting up hoardings on trees damaging the trunk and the barks.
But, still some of businessmen are making use of trees for their advertisements. This practice will hamper the ecological balance in the environment,” Ch Jahnavi, a green environmentalist lamented, while speaking to The Hans India here on Thursday.
She said that in Ahmedabad, some of the youth have taken it as a mission to remove the advertisement hoardings and sign boards on the trees after taking permission from the Ahmadabad Municipal corporation. They take up such work during the weekend. People here should also follow suit, she added. When asked to respond on the issue, a senior official of AP Forest Department, said that a majority of forest department staff and enforcement officials are not aware of it.
However, he said that he would take up the issue with his higher-ups. However, Commissioner of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) M Hari Narayanan said that a massive drive would be initiated soon to remove such hoardings and sign boards.
By VKL Gayatri
