Ahmedabad's Tree Transplantation Crisis Amid Urban Redevelopment
As Ahmedabad undergoes significant urban transformation with the redevelopment of old residential societies, a critical environmental question emerges: what happens to the mature trees that have graced these compounds for decades, or even longer? The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has established protocols calling for the transplantation of these trees to alternative locations. However, the specialized machinery acquired for this purpose in 2016 has proven largely ineffective, creating a substantial operational dilemma.
Limitations of the Truck-Mounted Transplanter
The massive truck-mounted transplanter, purchased from the state forest department, suffers from severe functional constraints. According to an AMC official who requested anonymity, the equipment cannot handle trees with trunk diameters exceeding 90 centimeters. Furthermore, it is completely unusable in areas with underground utilities, which are common in urban settings. Since its acquisition, this expensive machine has successfully replanted fewer than 200 trees, despite incurring annual operational costs surpassing Rs 30 lakh.
Fallback to Manual Transplantation Methods
Confronted with the machinery's inadequacy, the AMC's parks and gardens department has been compelled to authorize manual transplantation. This method is notoriously challenging and results in significantly lower tree survival rates. The allowance for manual replanting ironically undermines the AMC's own environmental conservation drive to preserve urban greenery. The manual process involves trimming the trees, excavating around their root systems, flooding the pits to loosen the roots, and finally using cranes to relocate the trees with their root balls intact. While there have been isolated successes, sources indicate that the majority of manually transplanted trees do not survive the stressful relocation process.
Contractual and Financial Dimensions
In 2016, an operations and maintenance contract was issued for the transplanter machine, stipulating 200 working days per year in eight-hour shifts, with annual payments ranging between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 35 lakh. As this contract concluded, a new tender was floated, approving a substantial Rs 3.50 crore proposal for a five-year period, including a provision for a two-year extension based on satisfactory performance. At a standing committee meeting in January 2024, this proposal was initially deferred due to insufficient data regarding the number of trees actually replanted using the machinery. The proposal was subsequently approved despite these concerns.
Recent Tree Removal Without Replantation
The transplantation failures are highlighted by recent infrastructure projects where tree removal occurred without subsequent replanting efforts. In 2024, approximately 242 large trees were felled for the airport road development project, with not a single one being transplanted. Similarly, 60 trees were cut down during work on the service road of the Vadaj junction flyover on Ashram Road, and again, none were replanted. These incidents underscore the gap between policy intentions and on-ground execution in Ahmedabad's urban environmental management.
