Elevated track of Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project would save at least 20000 trees

Ahmedabad:

The number of trees to be removed for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project, will come down to around 30 thousand from earlier estimated around 50 thousand and many of those needed to be removed would be safely re-located to further reduce the loss to flora around the special track and other facilities to be built for the purpose.

An official of the National High Speed Rail Corporation, the implementing authority of the pet project of PM Narendra Modi, which is taking shape in collaboration with Japan, today said that initially it was estimated that around 50 thousand trees needed to be removed for the construction of 482 km over the surface part of around 508 km long track (26 km being underground) between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. ‘But after the decision to keep over-the-surface part of the track on an elevated platform of 17 meter height, It is expected to come down to around 30 thousand. And of these 30 thousand too, as many as possible would be saved with the help of state-of-the-art US made tree relocation machines, also known as tree-spade,’ he said.

Meanwhile the spokesperson of NHSRC, Dhananjay Kumar, who was here today said that a pilot project to study the efficacy of tree relocation has been started near Sabarmati railway station in Ahmedabad. ‘ Currently the length of around 8 km from Sabarmati terminal to hub to maintenance depot along the proposed track has been taken as a pilot project for tree relocation. There were around 2500 trees are situated in this segment alone. We have safely relocated 3 big trees away from the proposed track. After study the success rate of it, the same would be applied across the project to minimize the loss of trees,; he said.

Notably the land acquisition process for the ambitious project has already started in both Gujarat and Maharashtra.

DeshGujarat