Ever since the concept of ‘smart city’ has been doing around, every city is trying to implement strategies to be a fit to smart city criteria.’ Every city is trying to come up with a unique proposition to initiate the smart living plan. In this regard, amidst all the buzz, the city of Coimbatore has come up with a natural way through which sustainability could be achieved which could, in turn, could ultimately lead to the development of a ‘smart city’.

                                                                        [Image Source-  wikimedia.org]

Well, the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), has taken an initiative that is effective and exemplary for others to follow.

(IFGTB), in Coimbatore has started identifying the aptest species of trees to plant along streets lanes and avenues. The institute wants to use this tree species for urbanisation and city embellishment. The main reason behind the establishment of trees is to beautify the city and to attract birds, bees and insects to support fauna, regularly.

“We are looking at native tree species, that have aesthetic appeal, are sturdy enough to withstand reasonably heavy winds and rains, provide good shade, that do not require much water or maintenance and support fauna,” said A. Nicodemus,  a principal scientist at IFGTB.

The selection of the right trees plays a very important role in this initiative. Some of the selected plants for this initiative are Cadamba, Vaagai and the Poovarasan tree. The criteria for their selection is that they have spread barks and do not require much care and watering.The initiators are trying to avoid trees that produce and drop pulpy fruits and those trees that grow extremely fast but are not sturdy such as Gulmohar.

Owing to great minds working on initiatives like this, tree conservationists believes that the civic body and district administration must consult institutes like IFGTB before procuring the saplings from the forest academy’s nurseries. There could be a formation of a  committee consisting of members of the public, botany experts and NGO representatives. They could jointly plan and give inputs from the community, locations suitable for planting, as well as suitable species.

This initiative has given a completely new prospect towards attaining sustainability. And it has also highlighted on the fact that it is not humongous fund but a smart planning that could help shape a smart city.

Curated by a Building Expert from Wienerberger India

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Information source- indiatimes.com , ndtv.com