CHENNAI: The green cover in parks and open spaces in the city will increase with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) looking to plant more trees in existing parks, apart from creating new ones under the Singara Chennai 2.0.
In the first phase, the civic body will plant 40,000 saplings of 20 varieties, including Kadamba, apricot, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Simarouba glauca, etc. Many of them are already five-six feet in height. When mature trees are transplanted here, it is easier for them to survive in the existing weather conditions, said officials.
“Every week, we will take up to 10 parks in each zone. Our focus is tall trees, and we are looking to plant 50-100 native varieties,” said corporation commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi. “Apart from this, we will also fix broken play equipment, pathways or any infrastructure that needs repair. We will also add benches and equipment and improve toilet facilities with help from the councillors’ ward development funds,” the commissioner added.
While the GCC has its nurseries that are soon to become operational and are being maintained under the Tamil Nadu Urban Employment Scheme, to save time, trees and saplings have been brought in from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, said officials.
Bougainvillea bloom
After the centre medians in Mount Road, bougainvillaeas will now line most other medians, adding colour to the landscape while also being low maintenance.
“We are focusing on bougainvillaeas because they are drought-resistant and low maintenance, and they look nice. The only requirement is that they need regular pruning,” said a corporation official.
For plantation in avenues and medians, the corporation will use bio-earth derived from landfills as it is rich in carbon.