Two outdoor advertising agencies in the city are in a soup for illegally trimming 536 trees on edges of roads to make advertising hoardings more visible. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has fined them Rs 50 lakh each.
Condemning the act, AMC commissioner M Thennarasan asked the deputy municipal commissioner, I K Patel, to initiate strict action against the agencies. The DyMC then issued notices to both, stating they had only received contracts to put up display boards on the central road verges and did not have permission to prune trees.
Order to plant 4,000 trees
As punishment, the two agencies have been fined Rs 50 lakh each, which translates to Rs 18,656 per tree. The DyMC has also ordered them to plant and maintain 4,000 trees till they attain the same height as that of the trees that were trimmed, AMC sources said.
The companies, Chitra (B) Publicity Co. and Zaveri & Co Ltd., were chosen by the AMC to install advertisement boards on the central edges of roads at many locations in the western part of the city.
The DyMC’s note read: “The two companies violated the tender conditions by illegally trimming the trees. Trees are vital for life and purification of the air besides providing shade. This action has caused considerable environmental harm and is condemnable.”
On May 29, Patel issued a notice to Zaveri & Co Ltd located on C G Road for unauthorised cutting of 512 trees planted on the medians of four roads.
In all, 214 trees were trimmed between Sanand crossroads and Sanathal. About 188 trees were pruned on the median connecting L J Campus and Zaveri Circle in Sarkhej, 35 on the median near Asian Global School in Chandkheda and 75 on the median near YMCA Club in Sarkhej.
Chitra (B) Publicity Co is reported to have trimmed 17 trees on the road median between Sola Bridge and Sukan Mall in Gota and another seven on the median near Kameshwar Mahadev Temple Road in Vadaj.
Also Read: Rajkot Game Zone Co-owner’s Body Identified: Police
