NMMC Orders Removal of Concrete Around Trees Across Navi Mumbai
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has launched a citywide special drive to protect existing trees and minimize the risk of uprooting during heavy rains and strong winds across Navi Mumbai.
Municipal Commissioner Dr Kailas Shinde has directed civic departments to clear concrete, asphalt, and paver blocks from around tree trunks, ensuring sufficient open space for air and water to reach root systems. The civic body will conduct a survey of trees throughout the city and establish a minimum one-metre open tree pit around each tree, expanding to at least 1.5 metres for larger trees.
Under the new guidelines, the soil level inside each pit must remain six inches below the surrounding surface. The surrounding ground will be sloped toward the pit to facilitate rainwater percolation. Dr Shinde stated that protecting the city's green cover requires structural changes in how roads, footpaths, and development projects are planned, emphasizing the need for scientific pruning and careful excavation.
The initiative comes after an expert meeting convened by the commissioner to analyze why trees and branches collapse during the monsoon. Excessive concreting around trunks, root damage from utility trenching, inadequate sunlight, unscientific pruning, and the planting of unsuitable tree species were identified as primary causes. NMMC has prohibited the construction of brick or cement structures around tree pits and advised that future plantations focus on native species suited to local conditions.
The civic body also issued specific plantation rules for newly developed and widened roads under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Tree Conservation and Tree Protection Rules, 2009. The guidelines mandate one tree every 10 metres along roads 24 metres or wider, one tree every 10 metres on both sides of roads between 12 and 24 metres wide, and one tree every 20 metres along roads measuring six to 12 metres in width. Road medians must allocate four to five feet of space for soil and shrub plantation.
In addition, all excavation work near trees must now occur under the supervision of a Garden Assistant after obtaining formal permission from the Tree Officer. Any tree felling or transplantation required for development projects will require prior clearance from the Tree Authority. The civic body warned that damaging trees or conducting unauthorized felling will invite legal action under Section 21(1) of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Tree Protection and Conservation Act, 1975.
