Nagpur’s green count nears 37L mark, tree census shows city growing greener

Nagpur: The tree census in Nagpur has documented 37.03 lakh trees as on June 2 — which is already 73% higher than the 21.43 lakh trees recorded in the city's last census in 2011 — indicating a growing urban green cover even before the exercise is completed. Nagpur's tree census is emerging as a significant environmental milestone, even as the exercise is underway in Laxmi Nagar zone, while Dharampeth and Mangalwari zones remain to be surveyed fully.Earlier this year, NMC had informed the court that preliminary enumeration crossed 26 lakh trees, with officials expecting the final figure to rise considerably after completion of the remaining zones.Among the zones, Nehru Nagar has emerged greenest with 7.41 lakh trees, followed by Dhantoli with 6.01 lakh trees and Ashi Nagar with 4.91 lakh trees. Hanuman Nagar recorded 3.93 lakh trees, while Lakadganj accounted for 2.53 lakh trees. Gandhibagh (59,528) and Satranjipura (42,835), the city's densely built commercial and old-city areas, continue to have comparatively lower tree numbers.Laxmi Nagar zone sprang the biggest surprise, where the ongoing exercise has already documented 8.05 lakh trees — surpassing the 6.08 lakh trees recorded there in 2011, when it was the city's greenest zone. The census, being conducted using GIS and GPS-enabled technology, assigns a unique identity to every tree and records multiple parameters, including species, height and girth. The findings come at a time when urban tree conservation has gained prominence. In recent months, NMC informed the court that it removed concrete encroachments around more than 7,400 trees, while several infrastructure projects have been redesigned to protect heritage trees.