WANTED: Green hearts to fund city forests :

By M H Ahssan

Neglected forest patches in the city can turn into lush green lung spaces if its citizens open their hearts and pockets.

Over the last one year, HNN has been running a sustained green campaign in Hyderabad with the fond hope that the city would indeed be greener one day. While the campaign with the support of citizens groups could arrest tree felling in the city in several places and even showed the way of translocation as an option to mindless felling, a lot remains to be done. On World Environment Day, the state Forest Department wants to tell Hyderabadis that there can be at least 94 more KBR parks in the city if only those with a green heart would fund these existing but neglected forest patches.

About five kilometres before the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, a little beyond Pahade Sharif, is a small diversion into a rather inconspicuous patch of shrubs and tall eucalyptus trees. Nestled amidst this ignored patch of drying greens, which is Jalpally Forest Block, is possibly one of the most picturesque locations in the city, lying in neglect - a tranquil lake, that has shrunk in size due to the summer, and white birds perched prettily around it. The breeze filtering through the leaves on the trees is cool despite the leaves being dry and trees wilting. Yet, the lake and the backdrop appear picture perfect which with some care and development could be turned around into the city’s next KBR park.

And on World Environment Day, the Forest Department is hoping for just that —funds to turn this forest block among many others into the much-needed lung spaces in the city. The Jalpally Forest Block is among the 94 similar blocks in the city (within the HMDA limits) that forest department officials say have the potential to be turned around into KBRlike parks if only some funds could be infused into these neglected patches. These forest blocks were notified about four to five decades ago when development activity had started in the city and the then powers-that-be wisely decided to conserve some green patches.

However of late, these forest blocks have been under threat. With land becoming dearer, officials are constantly battling encroachers and even cases filed by people in the courts claiming that the land within the forest block belongs to them. “It is for such reasons that protection of these blocks is very important,” says M J Akbar, divisional forest officer, who points out that there are at least three people claiming in the court that the entire land within Jalpally Forest Block belongs to them. Officials say that this sudden interest in the land is because it now is on the way to the airport and is thus worth crores of rupees.

The forest department is now seeking the help of corporates who as part of their corporate social responsibility would want to develop these forest blocks. Observers note that funding from the government too would go a long way in conserving the city’s eco-system.

Officials estimate that the cost of adopting a block such as Jalpally would be around Rs 2 crore but would help immensely in not only protecting it but also turning it into a lung space that would pump fresh air into the increasingly polluted city.

For starters, a simple compound wall around the blocks would prevent people from physically encroaching into these areas. Then further development inside the blocks, such as better vegetation, grooming of existing green cover or even creation of more facilities such as walking or jogging tracks would go a long way in protecting these spaces. Officials say with adequate funding, the lake at Jalpally can be deepened and the bund around the lake elevated after the compound wall is ready.

Spread over 168 acres of land, a little less than half the size of KBR park which measures up to 356.25 acres, the Jalpally Forest Block saw its last plantation in 1983 when eucalyptus trees were planted here. Officials say that the lake sitting pretty in the midst of the block widens during the monsoon and has the potential to be turned into a beautiful weekend picnic spot as well.

Officials say that the block even has some peacocks that can be seen in the mornings and evenings. Their fears of encroachments are not unfounded with construction activity around the block and in some cases even at its border.

Citing the example of another such patch, Dulpally Forest Block in Kompally, officials say that a compound wall was constructed here a few months ago which has been very effective in insulating it from the dense construction surrounding it. The 2.1 km compound wall was constructed with the user charges collected by the state government and the work was completed a couple of months ago. Explaining it with a visual of the forest block on Google Images, M J Akbar shows an unoccupied, green block in the midst of a concrete jungle and says that other blocks too could be sustained as green covers in the city.

Getting funds, say officials, is not easy given that forest is not a priority with either the government or corporates. “In a city, forests get the short shrift,” an official said.

Breathing fresh air into Hyderabad
As on date, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Park remains Hyderabad’s only lung space. Spread over 350 acres of land, there were about three decades ago 200 varieties of birds, including scrub birds, grassland and perching birds. Now, nature lovers say that the numbers would have dropped by 50 per cent.

In fact, it is said that the last Nizam Mukkaram Jah chose this spot to build his Chiran Palace in the 1950’s for this rare variety of birds and trees. Apart from birds, there were snakes and other animals. Now, there are mostly peacocks in the park. Nature lovers believe that there would still be 600 species of trees, herbs, climbers and shrubs in the park. The park was opened to the public in the year 1994 and the walkway around it was constructed in 2000. About 40 per cent of KBR’s area is allocated for walking, while a part of it is a conservation zone where even walkers are not permitted.