Panvel to fine up to Rs 5,000 per tree for putting up ads or decorative lights on trees

Putting up an advertisement on a tree in Panvel, or wrapping decorative lights around its trunk, can now prove costly. The Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) has approved a graded system of fines for those who damage trees. The fine can go up to Rs 5,000, and a fourth offence can also lead to a criminal case.

The decision was taken on Thursday at a meeting of the corporation's Tree Authority committee. Members decided that a first violation will attract a fine of Rs 1,000 per tree. A second offence will cost Rs 3,000 per tree, and a third Rs 5,000.

The decision covers several kinds of acts. Hammering nails into a tree, pasting or hanging advertisements on it, and putting up decorative lights have all been treated as violations. Anyone found doing so a fourth time can face action under Section 21(1) of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975.

The committee has also revised the charges for tree pruning. Those who get the pruning done themselves will pay Rs 250 per tree. Those who want to use the corporation's pruning service will be charged Rs 1,200 per tree.

PMC Commissioner Mangesh Chitale said, "These steps are meant to save and protect trees, so that the ecological balance within the corporation's limits is maintained."

The meeting also took up the matter of trees near Taloja MIDC. Two proposals involving 925 trees there have been put on hold for now. The trees are likely to be affected by the construction of a road and a stormwater drain. The proposed expansion of the existing solid waste management project at Chal village could also affect these trees.

The committee has asked CIDCO to first identify land for planting new saplings as compensation, and then submit details of that land along with an environmental impact report. Only after that will the proposals be considered again.