CHENNAI: Chennai is growing warmer due to rapid urbanisation, unchecked emission of green house gases, unabated pollution and large-scale depletion of green cover, according to environmental and town planning experts.Speaking at a function organised by The Institution of Engineers (India) Tamil Nadu State Centre and Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI) Tamil Nadu Regional chapter, former UN advisor G Dattatri highlighted the need for preserving the green cover for sustainable living.“Currently, 17.5 percent of land in the State has the forest cover which is minimal. For sustainable living, the state should have at least 33.3 per cent of forest area,” said Dattatri.He said that even the mangrove forests were vanishing in the state due to the pressures of urbanisation and stressed the need for an action plan to stop the degradation of forest cover. He added bird species like the hornbill would soon vanish if the forest cover was not protected.KR Thooyavan, an Urban Planning Consultant and former chief planner of CMDA, pointed out how the green cover dwindled in the city due to rapid and unplanned urbanisation. “As the built up area is increasing, open spaces are coming down,” he said.He said that during the 1960s, the city was not that much warm but the rapid industrialisation and the vanishing green cover has made the city warmer. He also mentioned that respirable particles in the ambient air were increasing in the city and stressed the need for bringing down pollution. He suggested a three-pronged action plan that included growing more trees and encouraging people to use bicycles or simply walking. He also stressed on the need for a Mass Rapid Transport System to be the mainstay for people across the board to patronise. Shiba Menon, founder trustee of Nizhlal, highlighted the need to promote tree culture in the urban areas. She stressed the need for protesting against tree abuse in every neighbourhood. “As the space in urban areas is lessening, there is a need to protect the trees,” she added.Dr AN Sachithanandam, president of ITPI, said the state was losing the socio-cultural balance as forest land was being commodified for commercial purposes. R Shivakumar, Chairman of The Institution of Engineers PR Seshadri, secretary of ITPI, and KP Satyamurthy, secretary of Institution of Engineers, were also present on the occasion.
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