And we wonder why our cities get flooded

The rains are almost here and one of the most delightful sights is to see the wind racing through the trees, like a naughty child, making the green tops swirl.

Sometimes you forget you are in a city of sky-scrapers, as many of Mumbai's lanes have glorious tree-lined canopies awash in green, red and yellow depending on the flowers in bloom. A healing sight for many a tired, computer— or cell phone — weary eye.

In fact, it’s not unusual to see people settle down in the shade of a tree-filled traffic island for some respite in the company of a tweeting bird, a resting dog or a nestling cat. Little ecosystems, the heartbeat of a thriving city.

But these green healers face the axe to make way for Metro 3, a project that will connect South Mumbai (among the most expensive real estate in the world) to the suburbs. Towards this end, last week saw tree after mammoth tree being felled in the lanes around Mantralaya, the seat of the State government.

No elderly man or young woman who hugged the old and glorious trees to save them from being cut were able to cause a change of heart. They were, instead, mocked and threatened by officials directing the cutters.

One tree soldier who climbed a half-hacked Peepul tree said that he had voted for the government that promised to protect trees. “We say Aamchi Mumbai , I am Aamchi Mumbai ,” he said. He was brought down and by the end of the day, so was the mammoth tree.

Five thousand glorious trees are marked for the axe. About 100 in the canopied lanes around Mantralaya.

It is the classic stand-off between citizens, and so-called development planned ostensibly in the name of citizens. But the disturbing urgency with which the trees are being felled have many residents questioning if there isn’t a better way to improve connectivity in the city without damaging its very lungs.

There are enough examples in the country that have shown us up for our shortsightedness in urban planning.

Floods in Mumbai and Chennai throwing life and work out of gear. Delhi saw schools shut down because of smog. It may seem like a playback of something we learnt in junior school, but trees and mangroves hold onto soil, clean up the air we breathe, and recent studies are only increasing the list of public health roles that trees play in our lives, on our physical and mental well-being.

An unsustainable approach to infrastructure projects (cutting trees, encroaching riverbeds and wetlands, filling water bodies) has resulted in climate change which today threatens our cities with floods, malaria, heat exposure, air pollution, etc.

Progressive governments around the world know they need to address climate change by doing things differently, sustainably. And that’s the reason why the green agenda needs to feature prominently on our ‘development’ map too. To save ourselves, if nothing else.

So, can Mumbai’s connectivity be addressed in a sustainable way that does not kill the natural ecosystem? Can our urban planners be progressive enough to plan highway projects by incorporating natural tree cover into it? And can infrastructure projects be aligned with spaces already created with the least damage to man and nature?

Harried Mumbaikars question environmental clearances and point to legal grey areas that are possibly being exploited to fell trees and push the project with such urgency. But alas, the tree does not get the benefit of the doubt.

The cutting continues day after day, right through the day. The buzzing of the saw ripping through the girth of a tree trunk is non-stop and the smell of freshly cut wood hangs heavily in the air, as birds, bats, squirrels, etc wander about dispossessed.

People stand around solemnly like someone had died regretting the “ acche jhaad ” (good trees) so brazenly killed. The national tree (Banyan), trees sacred to many such as the Peepul, all face the same fate. Replanting them will not work say experts, and planting fresh saplings still means needlessly uprooting an existing one, rue citizens fighting to save them.

With few doors left for them to knock on and save their trees, their oxygen, their quality of life and the life of the tree itself, Mumbaikars brace for the harsh impact of the sun and the oncoming rains. And then we wonder why our cities get flooded out.

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