Metro rail to translocate trees, take up plantation

Ahead of removal or translocation of trees which are coming in the right of way or road widening for the metro rail project, the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) has commenced tree plantation on a large scale.While about 3,000 trees need to be removed or translocated in the three metro rail corridors, the initial stretches of Nagole-Mettuguda and Miyapur-Ameerpet where metro rail works are to commence soon, have 1,551 trees that need to be removed or translocated, according to a press release issued here.As approved by the Forest Department, HMR would translocate 389 of these trees, mostly Ravi (Ficus racemosa) and Marri (Ficus bengalensis) and cut the remaining 1,162 trees which are not fit for translocation, with compensatory plantation in the ratio of 1:5.HMR Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy stated that the green initiative of HMR, however, involved plantation of one lakh trees in the next couple of years and that immediate plantation of 10,000 trees has commenced.In consultation with the Forest Department, native species like Marri, Ravi, Kanuga (Gliricidia maculata), Seemachinta (Pithecellobium dulce), Vepa (Neem/Azadirachta indica), Erra maddi (Terminalia arjuna), Badam (Terminalia catappa), Tecoma (Tecoma argentia), Gulmohar (Delonix regia), Moduga (Butea monosperma) were being planted in the metro rail casting yard at Uppal, BITS Pilani campus at Jawahar Nagar and along the widened portions of metro rail corridors.