Mumbai: BMC to spend Rs 12 crore for a greener city

A Miyawaki forest at Bhakti Park in Wadala

The civic body has decided to plant 10,000 native trees for a greener and cleaner city, but the focus would mainly be the suburbs. Close to 90 places will be finalised for the project that is estimated to cost around Rs 12 crore, officials said on Tuesday.

With the city experiencing extremely poor air quality last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to create new green lungs by planting trees that indigenous to the city's climate." Currently, we are focusing on plantations mainly in the suburban area. We have called for a tender for plantation and maintenance for three months," said an official, adding that zone 1, which includes Colaba to Byculla and Mahalaxmi, has been excluded.

"The number of trees per area will be decided according to the space available. We will also try to develop more Miyawaki forests. Indigenous trees will attract birds, creating an ecosystem that would benefit everyone," the official added.

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The Miyawaki method, a creation of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, involves planting native trees and plants close to each other, with an idea of creating small, dense forests. The forests are left to flourish after a couple of years of care. The BMC introduced the concept in 2019 and is currently working on 47 Miyawaki forests across the city.

The records show that the BMC planted 40,000 trees in 2021-22 and 25,000 trees in 2022-23 alongside roads and in gardens. Currently, there are 29.75 lakh trees in Mumbai, including 2,60,495 in Miyawaki forests. Of the 29.75 lakh trees, 7.18 lakh are in the island city, 10.34 lakh are in the eastern suburbs, and 12.21 lakh in the western suburbs. In 2021-22, the BMC spent Rs 92.22 crore on plantation of new trees and preservation of old ones.