Forest Department to seek research wing’s expertise for translocating trees at Vellore airport

With work on the 850-metre runway moving apace, the officials have begun the process to clear the land for the next phase which will include construction of a single-storey building for arrival and departure terminals, airline offices and passengers’ waiting area, sources said.

However, there were numerous trees, including teak and pungan species, near the entrance and also along the approach road from the Chennai-Bangalore National Highway and the proposed building could come up only if this area abutting the entrance was cleared, airport sources said.

However, following a directive from the Union Ministry of Environment, airport officials requested the State Forest Department to ensure that no trees were cut down.

Acting on the request, the Vellore forest range officer was asked to survey the trees and number them, said senior forest officials. There were a total of 101 trees in the area. The airport officials wanted the trees to be translocated to an area behind the airport on the western side of a proposed park. To see if this would be feasible, the department has planned to consult its research wing in Chennai, said sources.

“There is no point in translocating all trees if we cannot ensure their survival in the new location and that is why the department’s research wing is being consulted,” they added.

Officials said that survival chances for trees with girth more than 50 cm is only 50% where those with lesser girth would easily survive as they were considered mere plants. Also, the machine necessary for this work was available only at Chennai.

As the trees have been numbered, the next phase of work will commence based on the advice offered by the forest research wing, officials said.