Due to the consistent rise in unplanned urbanisation in Dehradun, the condition of the once clean and green city has deteriorated to such a level that at present there is little space left for tree plantation in the city. Many thousands of trees have been axed in Dehradun to facilitate unplanned urbanisation since the city was made the State capital more than a decade ago but no attempts have been made to compensate for this by planting trees in the urban area.
Talking to The Pioneer, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) vice chairman R Meenakshi Sundaram said, “There is no scope for tree plantation in the existing city and there is limited space for making parks. However, we are planning to undertake substantial tree plantation as part of the river front development project along the Rispana and Bindal rivers. After this we will look into the scope for developing parks and other green spaces.”
It will be recalled that the Forest department had in 2010 submitted a green master plan for Dehradun but this could not be implemented by the authorities. The Forest department had elicited focus on the need for adopting a green master plan (GMP) akin to the one implemented in cities like Hong Kong in order to make Dehradun environmentally friendly while capitalising on bio-engineering, renewable energy and other features to optimise the urban environment of the State capital.
The measures needed to make Dehradun an environment-friendly city need concerted efforts of various government departments and agencies along with the participation of corporate houses and public. Measures proposed in the GMP for greening the city and enhancing its existing environment included the establishment of botanical gardens, sacred groves and implementation of a management plan for city forests. Observers point out that even when there was space for such green development, the authorities remained apathetic to this important need while also remaining passive towards unauthorized and unplanned construction in the town.
The city has already lost most of the green cover which had lent Dehradun its unique identity along with a comparatively cool and green ambiance. While many thousands of trees have been axed in the city to facilitate unplanned development, nothing has been done to compensate for this lost greenery in the city.