HYDERABAD: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and a few other urban local bodies (ULBs) in the State are set to take up a pilot project to assess old and vulnerable trees and take corrective steps to prevent them from falling.
After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) appointed a tree surgeon to protect vulnerable trees from falling on a pilot project basis, the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) K T Rama Rao in a tweet asked MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar to implement a similar project in HMDA, GHMC and other ULBs.
A tree surgeon also known as arborist or arboriculturist, cultivates, manages and studies old trees and prunes them to protect them from harm. GHMC officials told Express that they would study the pilot project being implemented in BMC and replicate the model here. Elaborating on the process, they said the physical attributes of the trees are recorded first, then the structural and physiological defects are identified.
They also check for the presence of any decay or disease, condition of the soil and roots, along with the condition of the site where it is growing.The tree surgeon will analyse a tree for any kind of fungal infections, decay or any other vulnerability and also suggest ways to protect them, the officials added.