Odisha Frames SOP For Translocation Of Trees To Check Rampant Felling

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has laid down a standard operating procedure (SOP) for translocation of large trees to curb rampant felling of trees to pave way for widening of roads and other developmental projects in the state.

The move aims at putting a brake on mindless felling of trees which had led to substantial loss of green cover, particularly in urban areas of the state. The need to promote translocation of trees was felt to prevent damage to environment, sources said.

Translocation process involves taking out trees and replanting them at new locations to keep the green cover intact.

As per statistics, over 1.85 crore trees were cut in the state between 2010 and 2020 for widening of national highways such as the Sambalpur-Chhattisgarh section of National Highway-6, four-laning of Bhubaneswar-Puri road, Panikoili-Remuli section and Remuli Rajamunda section.

On the other hand, 2.98 million trees were planted in place of these felled trees, only around 16% of the trees that were cut down. Environmentalists have expressed concern over the felling of 1,720 full-grown and old trees of different species for the widening of a 40 km stretch of NH 59 in Ganjam district.

Sources said the government has graded the translocation activity into different standards based on the type of trees. Transplanting a young tree of smaller girth class and less crown density would be cost effective and is taken as standard 1.

However, transplanting an established or middle age tree having higher girth class (less than 90 cm), heavy crown density and elaborate root during and after transplantation has been categorised as feasible with significant cost implications. The authorities would not attempt translocation of trees that have multiple trunks or having a deep and elaborate tap root system or attains girth class over 90 cm as such experiment will most probably promote slow death.

Though no species wise focused research is available on standardising the techniques of tree translocation, based on the survival of the translocated trees and success stories of translocation attempts, forest department officials said November and December would be the most favourable months for transplanting large trees.

During the process, it is important to protect the root ball while pruning the wider roots. The process involves engineering and arborist skills combined to make it work effectively, they said, adding that rainy season is not recommended for this work as it is not practical to keep lately transplanted large trees steady during that season.