[bkishore_77]

Hi,

There is quite a big tree next to my home which is earmarked to be chopped by the person who is constructing a new house. This tree is located in the public space. The owner of the new house says the roots have entered his property and hence it is a nuisance.

He says he has got the permission from the forest department to cut the tree. Could anyone guide me how to cross verify this from the forest department. Please guide me on how to go about it to save this tree. I want to try everything possible that I can.

[PatchyBoy]

It actually depends upon who is cutting a tree and why. So it happens that, depending upon the situation, you have to employ a strategy from an infinite number of deterrents to stop a man from cutting a tree. But basically there are two strateigies. One is to make them love the trees and the other is to make them afraid.. put some fear into them. When one has actually taken an axe or a saw in hand and is going to cut a tree, it is too late to stop him and use any of the above strateigies might serve as a last minute desperate bid to stop him.

Highlight religous and cultural beliefs about varoius trees to persons who are about to cut trees. Different trees have different Deities associated with them. This is not only in India, but all over the World. Many times this works. Make them realize the "Age" of the tree that is about to be cut. This also works sometimes, because, in a general way, people respect "Age". You can also point out that you are taking away the estate of your son or daughter. Or point it out that it is just like killing the golden egg laying goose.

Most important is that, understand the reason of that person who is cutting it and find out immediately a positive way to meet his requirement, without cutting the tree. You can never acieve anything by "negetion". If you are preventing sombody from doing something, you must give him another option or options.

If all else fails, go to the Courts and get a stay order. This should ideally be the last resort, as it is bound to create a lot of animosity between you and your future neighbour. Trying to talk him out of the idea in a pleasant and logical way would be the best course of action and I truly hope it works.

Rajan

[neofromcapone]

The most difficult approach - speak to the owner of the plot. Understand his point of view, offer a solution like trimming the tree. This is a Gulmohar, and flowers in the summers, and will start shedding leaves in about 3 - 4 months.

I believe, the tree is hindering the constructing activity, trimming will help.

If he is unwilling to co-operate, get a stay order first, find a way to put the onus on him to justify, the cutting off the tree, to the courts/relevant authorities.

I just googled tree lovers association - Project Vruksha | Green Cover | Bio-Diversity | Scientific Tree Census | Geo-Tag | GPS Device

Dear friend
My self Range Forest Officer in BBMP dasarahally zone.
contact me fore more details about trees in Bangalore.
Mob No: 9480683843, 9035726257

thanks and regards

nagaraj ks

Do enlist the help of such NGO's.

Lastly please be considerate and try and find an amicable solution, maybe the roots of the tree will be weakened by the construction activity and maybe a danger in the future.
You and your new neighbour have to live together, best to work this out with grace. Just keep it cool and find a win-win situation, the shade and green cover the tree provides is amazing and deserves you to find a alternative solution.

All the best

[beejay]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

Highlight religous and cultural beliefs about varoius trees to persons who are about to cut trees. Different trees have different Deities associated with them.


Rajan

Wake up. You no longer live in a closed society and refrain from passing such comments.

Thread opener- there are numerous societies who can help you. When the roads were getting widened in Coimbatore they made sure the Highways cut down only the earmarked ones and not all.

Cheers

[bluevolt]

Well IMO you ask him to trim down the tree and not uproot the entire tree. It is the branches which are entering his property and not the roots.

PS - If he still cuts down the tree then please plant a new one somewhere else/ask the owner of the plot to plant a new tree somewhere else.

[srishiva]

The gulmohar's roots do indeed spread over the surface and blocks the surface area also. They are not suitable to be grown on footpaths
.
Cant you plant some appropriate trees and let go this one? Its sad to see such a big tree being cut though. If you want a grown up plant/tree, you can look on the outskirts where there are empty sites with such trees and transplant them for quick growth. Costs are a consideration.

Our authorities dont plant the right trees and also they plant it in the centre of footpath making walking impossible.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by beejay

Wake up. You no longer live in a closed society and refrain from passing such comments.

Thread opener- there are numerous societies who can help you. When the roads were getting widened in Coimbatore they made sure the Highways cut down only the earmarked ones and not all.

Cheers

Really? I pass atleast 6 termite hills alongside the road, one of them right at a turning, making it difficult for two vehicles passing each other, all of them decorated with flowers, turmeric, kum kum, etc on my daily commute to work. No, I do not live in some remote part of the country. I live in the so called silicon valley of India.

There is a bigger world out there and most people there live in closed societies. I challenge anyone to put a framed picture of any diety at the base of the tree and decorate it with flowers, turmeric, etc and see if the guy hell bent on cutting the tree down is able to do so.

The suggestion was made in a bid to save the tree. Not with any other intention.

Rajan

[richie4u]

As you say that roots have entered into his property and especially since he is constructing it would be advisable to cut the tree as it can cause problems at a later stage, the only solution as suggested above is to ask the owner to plant a different tree in its place.

[bkishore_77]

Originally Posted by neofromcapone

The most difficult approach - speak to the owner of the plot. Understand his point of view, offer a solution like trimming the tree.
You and your new neighbour have to live together, best to work this out with grace.

I completely agree. I'll talk to this person and try to find out if chopping the tree is based on the real situation or is just based on the assumption that Gulmohar tree roots are a menace to the foundation.

Actually the tree is atleast 5 ft from the compound.

Originally Posted by beejay

Thread opener- there are numerous societies who can help you. When the roads were getting widened in Coimbatore they made sure the Highways cut down only the earmarked ones and not all.Cheers

Yes. My intention was to directly approach the Forest dept or NGO's in this regard. Let me first talk to the owner to change his decision before opting for other options.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Well IMO you ask him to trim down the tree and not uproot the entire tree. It is the branches which are entering his property and not the roots.
PS - If he still cuts down the tree then please plant a new one somewhere else/ask the owner of the plot to plant a new tree somewhere else.

It is not the branches that is causing the issue. I'm not going to let it go that easily to cut a tree in a public space.

Originally Posted by srishiva

The gulmohar's roots do indeed spread over the surface and blocks the surface area also. They are not suitable to be grown on footpaths
.Cant you plant some appropriate trees and let go this one? Its sad to see such a big tree being cut though.

Ohh. Just to come to terms that this tree will not be there in some time is really emotional. This tree is the view I get when I open the window of my room everyday.

Originally Posted by richie4u

As you say that roots have entered into his property and especially since he is constructing it would be advisable to cut the tree as it can cause problems at a later stage, the only solution as suggested above is to ask the owner to plant a different tree in its place.

Really difficult to let go off this tree. I may be wrong in the sense it may be actually affecting that person but my heart is taking over the mind.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by bkishore_77

I completely agree. I'll talk to this person and try to find out if chopping the tree is based on the real situation or is just based on the assumption that Gulmohar tree roots are a menace to the foundation.

. . .


Really difficult to let go off this tree. I may be wrong in the sense it may be actually affecting that person but my heart is taking over the mind.

Have experienced this in the past at my hometown. We were one of the first to land in the society and had planted the same plant/tree in the open area which had grown huge and was causing a few "root-related concerns" to other neighbors. They had unanimously decided to cut the tree and were going ahead with it. My dad stopped them and spoke to them one-on-one individually to understand their views. The actual problems came out to very different

1. The branches were protuding into their compound. One of the neighbor was planning on extending the 2nd floor and hence had a problem.
2. Another neighbor had issues with the leaves falling in his compound and didn't want to waste time on "sweeping"
3. Third guy wanted the tree cut as he was looking at the empty spot as a parking area!

Needless to say, a few branches were cut and the third neighbor was asked to get lost! And the problem was hence resolved.

Speak to the person, understand his true reasons. If roots are the real cause, showcase examples of how many houses/compounds have these trees without any issues. A major part of the "problem" might be just in his thoughts, and not in reality. Show him the advantage of having such a beautiful tree around the house and the benefits of the same.

P.s. That's a beautiful tree. My opinion, do not let it get cut, even if it is at the expense of spoiling relations with your to-be neighbor.

[kippu]

unfortunately the roots will be a problem for the construction and the flooring ,so you can advice him to cut that part of the roots and the branches and try to live with that
gulmohar are very resilient trees and will always grow back
if this solution is not amicable you can always ask it to be transplanted somewhere else

[ImranShahnawaz]

Approach “Tree for Free”(check there website). It is a Bangalore based NGO working to save trees in and around the city. I’m sure you will get some help from them.

[PearlJam]

I'm attaching the mail from ESG:


Trees on public and private land are protected by the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act , accessible here- http://www.karnatakaforest.gov.in/En...P_Act_1976.pdf

If you feel trees in your area are under threat, please call the tree officer responsible fr Bangalore South, Mr.Chaudhary and report them.

94806 83842, 2657 8423
Office – in the BBMP southern zone office, Jayanagar 2nd block, close to Ashoka pillar.

and at any point of time if you see someone cutting a tree, please see below for what can be done

Steps:
Approach the contractor/workers cutting the tree. Ask them if they have the approval of tree officer, BBMP for cutting the tree.

If they dont have the order Ask them to stop. Tell the that they are not authorised to cut trees and that they can be arrested for cutting trees without required permission. Please call the relevant tree officer.( Details in latter half of mail.)

Tell them the details – what’s happening and where. Ask her/him to come immediately and get the work stopped. If tree officer does not answer her/his phone, call their office number. If you dont get through to that, call the cops from the police station under whose jurisdiction the said road is located. Alert local residents and try and gather support (this could be counter-productive sometimes, they may want the tree to be cut) . And yes, pls take pics of the trees being cut.

If they have the order Please have a look at the order and see what it says. Does it have a BBMP seal? Does the order explicitly state that the full tree needs to be cut? Is it signed by the tree officer? Note – some times the tree officers permit the branches to be cut, but people use that to cut the whole tree. If permission is granted only for cutting branches, only branches can be cut, not the trunk. In case they have what appears to be a order, but the order looks fishy/incomplete, call the tree officer on cellphone/landline and inquire if permission has been granted.

In case they do have the order to cut trees and it looks like they have been granted permission, just double-check with the tree officer anyway. Call the tree officer on cell-phone/landline and speak to her/him confirming if an order has been passed to cut the trees in that location.

If they have the order and it looks like its genuine and the order allows felling of trees If at the end you realise that the tree officer has granted permission to cut the trees, there is not much you can do at that moment to stop it. Ask the tree officer if trees are being replanted in the same area, to compensate for the trees being cut. If trees are not being replanted in the same area, thats a violation of the act.

Later, you can also file an appeal with the tree authority, BBMP against the
tree officer’s order.
Tree Officer Contact Details
Tree officer North (Zones – North, East, Mahadevpura, Bytarayanapura)
Suresh – 9845174447, 22485317
His office is in the BBMP main office, hudson circle.
Tree officer South (Zones – South, West, Bomannahalli, Raja Rajeshwari Nagar)
Venkateshappa – 94806 83842, 2657 8423
Office – in the BBMP southern zone office, Jayanagar 2nd block, close to Ashoka pillar.

[W.A.G.7]

Everytime I see such a story, it pains me no end. If he's got the permission from the forest department to cut it down, then I guess; you can't do much about it. Even if he doesn't cut it down fully now, he might do the same later on.

Almost similar case: my neighbour had a huge mango tree in his garden. One fine day he trimmed all the branches leaving only the 20ft tall stump. The justification was that the people in the house behind couldn't get any sunlight. The stump started growing branches again, but after a few days suddenly the whole stump became dry and branches withered and fell of. Since the forest department here, must not have given the permission to cut down the full tree, I think he must have poisoned it/put something in the water after a few days which killed the stump.

As others have suggested, try talking to your neighbour on this one. See if he really has the requisite permission. Get an NGO involved in this and see if you can do anything collectively. If you have some more like minded friends, take them along when you go to talk with him.

Alone, it's difficult to fight out the system, but by sticking together, you might just be able to change his mind. Do you live in a co-op housing society? Have you talked out with the society members? If nothing else works and he goes ahead with the cutting, then you can plant a few more trees somewhere in your city in remembrance of this tree.

[Concorde]

I am against cutting trees too but if we look at this from a detached point of view, he doesn't have too many options because the roots of a full grown tree will pose problems sooner or later. The best would be a tree transplant and it is really unfortunate that very few people know how to do that scientifically in India and that is true with tree planting also. Even if there are people/organizations, there is no support from the government due to which they are not heard of.

In our city, entire stretches of full grown trees are chopped off or poisoned every now and then just because it is easier to do so than to prepare an action team with the necessary skills and equipment to transplant them and then transport them to a different part of the city and keeping them hydrated. The justification is that n number of trees are planted elsewhere to make up for the loss. But the full grown trees must be saved too. Otherwise it is like saying let n number of people die because nXn number of babies are born elsewhere. Completely defies logic doesn't it?

So try to find out about a tree transplant organization and do keep us posted. And if any of you here know of any such organization in Calcutta, please help me with the contact details. Will be of a lot of help.