Maharashtra to protect Heritage trees

Context:

Maharashtra government is set to make arrangements for protecting ‘heritage trees’ by making changes to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act of 1975.

Details

• The government is also planning to institute Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act of 1975 in all local bodies of the state.

• Heritage tree is defined as a one that has passed age of 50 years. The species of the tree may be notified from time to time.

• There have been demand to consider a tree’s cultural, religious, historical, rarity, mythological and botanical importance before classifying it as heritage tree.

• The counting of heritage trees and surveys will have to be carried out every five years by the local tree authority.

Determining age Heritage trees

• The most common way of determining the age of the tree is through a method called Dendrochronology. In this method the annual tree rings will be calculated.

• The tree adds a ring every year. This will be able to determine the age and also some of its characteristics too.

• The tree ring is harvested by boring a hole and obtaining a small sample for study. The role is then closed to prevent diseases.

Significance

• The heritage tree will be used decide the compensatory mechanism. A person cutting heritage tree will have to plant same number of trees as the age of the cut tree.

• The individual has to ensure that the planted sapling survives for seven years and later have to be geo-tagged.

Compensations

A person can pay compensation in money if planting tree is not possible. The economic value has not yet been determined but it will be based on its oxygen output.

Source: Indian Express