BMC mandates Miyawaki plantations for projects larger than 10,000 square metres

The BMC has made Miyawaki plantations necessary for development areas larger than 10,000 square metres in an effort to improve the city's green cover. Iqbal Singh Chahal, the Commissioner of the BMC, made the decision regarding the policy on Monday. As a result, the Building Proposal Department will now add a clause in the Intimation for Disapproval (IOD) that allows the building permit to be cancelled in the event of a regulation breach. For the past three years,  Miyawaki, a cutting-edge Japanese method for plantations, has been supported. For this reason, more and more trees are being planted in confined areas so they can develop vertically as opposed to horizontally. It also guarantees that open spaces will be more enriched than usual.

 

Four lakh trees will be planted as part of urban forests at 64 sites throughout the city, according to a goal set by the BMC. The majority of the trees planted are enormous flowering/shade-giving trees, as well as bamboo, palm, ground cover, grasses, fern, creepers/climbers, and shrubs. According to the Development Control Rules, a fixed space must be left open when constructing a building, according to BMC Garden Superintendent Jitendra Pardeshi. Building on land greater than 10,000 square metres will now require the developer to create a Miyawaki forest on 5% of the allocated open area. The department of civic gardens will also provide technical advice for developing such urban woodlands.

 

Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, invented the Miyawaki technique in the 1980s. The BMC designated contractors in 2019 to implement this idea by planting trees in 61 public places. The method guarantees a 10 times faster rate of development and 30 times denser plantation. The BMC has adapted the technique to turn public parks and gardens into miniature forests. According to a civic official, more than two lakh trees have been planted in the last two years. In 2020, this idea resulted in the planting of almost 57,000 trees in Wadala's Bhakti Park. Similarly, a project at Marol along the Mithi river was intended to plant 139 types of trees on 3.2 acres of land last year.

 

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @themaktab