City-based environmentalist Stalin Dayanand has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding that the penalty for the illegal felling of trees be increased from the present amount of Rs 1000, as well as the reintroduction of a proposed amendment to the Maharashtra Felling of Trees (Regulation) Act, 1964. A bill, which sought to increase the penalty for the illegal felling of trees to Rs 50,000, was withdrawn by the Maharashtra government in December last year.

Even as we marked Earth Day recently, some sobering thoughts about the wanton destruction of Mumbai’s green cover should have entered our consciousness. We have to see that we encourage tree plantation drives, and make every effort to promote a green consciousness. By that, one does not mean merely spouting fashionable phrases or making token contributions just because seeming to be eco-aware is hip. There should be real, on-ground change. Try greening your immediate environs and preserving these plants as far as possible.