Tree banks to enrich cities

Readymade trees, anyone? Landscapers may not have to wait too long to get full grown trees in their front yards, cities could be greener, developers providing adequate landscape and green areas in projects may shell out just a little bet less on taxes – these are some of the plans in a new initiative by the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre.

But where are the ‘readymade' trees to come from? From areas where the trees have been axed to make way for ‘growth,' is the answer. This is among the proposals by the GBC to spread greenery in cities – a project that has potential to address a wide range of modern day problems – including climate change, pollution and air quality.

Greening of urban areas is set to pick up pace with tree banks to be established by through the joint effort of CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC), the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and Urban Development, local development authorities and various stakeholders.

The GBC has prepared an approach document for a public-private partnership to create green landscapes in urban concrete jungles, open up lung space, and bring down ambient temperature. The private sector participation will be in the form of managing tree banks and nurseries, which will have a check list of types of plants suited to an area.

The tree banks and nurseries will list out and stock plant species suited to a particular environment, types of trees that could be grown in the neighbourhood, various varieties of creepersand plants that can be grown in houses.

“We would seek the support of the State Government and local authorities to incentivise those focussing on landscapes. We will make out a case to reduce lproperty taxes when commercial buildings and homes take up landscaping,” Mr S. Raghupathy, Senior Director of CII-GBC, told Business Line .

“The local authorities will be requested to extend about 5 per cent reduction in property tax, allow 5 per cent higher floor area for new construction, if the developer makes green landscape part of the set- up,” he said. “We are planning to take up pilot projects in two of the fastest growing metropolis —Bangalore and Hyderabad,” he said.

“Trees typically take about 10-20 or even 30 years to grow to their peak capacities. Therefore, we have come up with this concept of tree banks. In most cities due to urban infrastructure growth, a large number of trees are felled. Instead of doing this, we would like to replant them in new projects,” he said. .

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