Miyawaki forests mandatory at building sites

Rule is mandatory for building sites bigger than 10,000 sq m. BMC claims the Miyawaki technique ensures plants grow 10 times faster than those that involve the usual method

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made the plantation of green spaces using the Miyawaki method mandatory at construction sites that are more than 10,000 sq m in area.

Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal took a decision in this regard on Monday. The building proposal department will now include this condition in its intimation for disapproval (IOD), a letter that the civic body sends to a builder or developer who proposes to undertake construction work.

As per the Development Control Rules, while developing a plot of more than 10,000 sq m, the developer needs to set aside 20 per cent of the plot as layout open space (LOS). "A Miyawaki forest is to be created in five per cent of the LOS," said a BMC official.

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"The civic garden department will also give technical guidance for creating urban forests at such places," said Jitendra Pardeshi, trees and garden superintendent.

In 2019, the BMC appointed contractors to develop urban forests using the Miyawaki method of planting at 61 open spaces across the city. The civic body claims the technique ensures plants grow 10 times faster than those that involve the usual method, resulting in 30 times denser vegetation.

"In the past two years, more than two lakh trees have been planted using the Miyawaki method," claimed the civic official.

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