Surat: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) claims to have planted more than 5 lakh trees in city in past four years, but it can’t be believed in absence of data as the last tree census had taken place 10 years ago.Dr SG Gautam, SMC’s garden superintendent, told TOI, “As a part of beautification drive in the city, ornamental trees are being planted at traffic junctions and along BRTS lanes and flyovers.”Dr Gautam claims civic body has planted more than five lakh trees in the last few years and that 80 per cent have grown up. But many contest this figure, saying survival rate of trees in the city is not even 50 per cent. ‘Status of Green Cover in Urban Areas of Gujarat’, a report published by forest department in 2011, estimated the tree cover at 1,184 hectare, which is just 3 per cent of city’s geographical area-lowest compared to other cities in Gujarat. The number of trees in the city was estimated at 3.24 lakh.SMC had tried vertical garden concept on pillars of flyover at Athwa Gate, but did not implement it on other bridges in the city because oxygen enhancing plants have higher leaf area index (LAI) and crown area index (CAI). When leaf size is broad, it absorbs more carbon from air and releases more oxygen. Leaves could be small but if their number is more, a tree’s capacity to create oxygen would be higher.Dr Namrata Jariwala, an assistant professor in the department of environment science of Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), said, “We need native tree plantations in the patches around industrial, residential and commercial areas for betterment of environment. The city should go for wise plantation rather than ornamental plantation.” Plantation of date palms on the stretch from Gaurav Path towards Dumas neither helps environment nor increases groundwater level of the area, experts say.

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