Taxonomist and Principal of Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College, Rajendra Shinde, on Saturday questioned the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s claim of planting over 2 crore saplings in Mumbai. He cited the lack of space in the city and stated that only roadside lanes are left for planting.

“I wonder where and at which locations they have been planted,” Shinde said during the inaugural International Arboriculture Conference.

Stressing that there was no space left in the city for planting trees, Shinde remarked, “We don’t have space to plant trees. Where are we going to plant them? The only area left is roadside plantation.”

He also noted that the Mumbai civic body has not released tree census data in the city, even though a 2018 survey claimed around 30 lakh trees in Mumbai.

“The 2018 tree census data has not yet been released. The BMC has not provided us with this data. It is not available. We have only seen this number in news reports,” Shinde added.

Vaibhav Raje, the organiser of the Arboriculture Conference, noted the significant struggle in “saving each and every tree in the city” amidst rapid infrastructure development.

He added that international and local experts were brought together at the conference to implement best management practices in arboriculture in Mumbai and across India.

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