BENGALURU: With many state governments struggling to relocate trees in the wake of massive infrastructure development in metros, Volvo Trucks India has come forward with a hi-tech solution of ‘tree transplantation’. It has already transplanted at least 3,000 trees across India.
Volvo Trucks has pioneered the solution to relocate trees and make infrastructure development environmentally sustainable.
Kamal Bali, MD of Volvo Trucks India, who is in town for the three-day 14th National Silviculture Conference on Forest and Sustainability, said the firm is acquiring three more units as the whole idea is to institutionalise the process of tree transplantation.
“We have three such comprehensive truck units and are planning to invest in three more. Our solution specialises in transplanting trees which are between 10 and 20 years of age and 15-20 inches diameter as the maximum amount of carbon sequestration is done by the tree at this stage. The survival rate is 80 per cent.”
The company has established such tree transplantation truck units (Rs 4 crore per unit) across the country with agencies like Coal India, NTPC, state governments and expertise from Institute of Wood Science (IWST), Bengaluru. IWST provides the knowledge about which tree species should be planted.
The MD added, “We along with IWST are poised to embark on an R&D project which will need us to transplant 5,000 trees. We will need three to five more units and more manpower.” The intention of this project is to create a momentum so that more agencies come forward to transplant trees, he added.
According to the company, the process of tree transplantation is getting a good impetus in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and they hope to do the same in Karnataka.