The widening of Nepean Sea Road will require the relocation of 54 trees while 99 others will be chopped. Going by past instances of tree relocation in the city, it is anybody’s guess how many of the 54 would survive.

The Tree Authority grants permission for cutting or transplantation; its officials say the proposing agency is expected to ensure survival of the trees. However, most trees perish within months, in the absence of specific guidelines to tend to the trees after relocation and an expert body to supervise if the relocation was carried properly.

Three years ago, 153 coconut palms were uprooted from Marine Drive and transplanted at Oval Maidan in Churchgate. “Of them, only about two per cent have survived. Most of them either rotted or have fallen off or is on the verge of dying today,” said Dr Nilesh Baxi, a nominated member of the Tree Authority and honourary secretary of Society for Improvement, Greenery and Nature.

Most palms are bare at the top, though one can still read clearly the serial numbers painted on the trunks during the transplantation process. “These trees have been planted on the inside circle of the Oval Maidan,” Baxi said. “While the palms on the outside circle are flourishing, those in the inner ring are dead.”

Baxi cited another example of the failure of transplantation: at Worli Dairy. Six years ago, nearly 100 trees were uprooted for a Haji Ali Road widening project and replanted in Worli Dairy. “Most were coconut trees and a few Barringtonia (locally known as badam trees), both sturdy varieties. Today, they have mostly perished,” he said.

Municipal authorities claim to have transplanted 24,821 trees since 2001 but, Baxi pointed out, “they can’t give details about their survival or even tell where they are located now”.

Monitoring and tending to a transplanted tree during its initial stages is critical for its survival, said U N Singh, a horticulturalist and also a member of the Tree Authority. “Tree transplantation doesn’t mean just lifting a tree and planting it elsewhere. It needs a lot of looking after. First, a pit deep enough to cover the roots of the adult tree has to be dug at least one month in advance and watered regularly, so that the soil remains moist. Then favourable mud has to be brought in from the original spot where the tree stands. After the tree is planted, there is a need to monitor and maintain it for at least two-and-a-half months,” he said. “Like a human body which takes time adjust to a new organ, the tree too goes through a period of trauma,” he explained.

V S Dande, superintendent of gardens, points out a lapse between what the Tree Authority okays and how the handling agency administers it. “When any agency approaches us with a request to cut or transplant trees for a development project, we study their application and pass the proposal. In transplantation, it is up to the concerned agency to ensure the tree’s survival. The organisation undertaking the work should make sure that the work is executed properly.”