: IAS Officer Plants 2020 Trees in the Middle of Chennai, Plans 1000 More Mini-Forests #IndiaNEWS #Chennai Nestled away, amid the concrete jungle in Kotturpuram district, Chennai, lies a mini-forest

IAS Officer Plants 2020 Trees in the Middle of Chennai, Plans 1000 More Mini-Forests #IndiaNEWS #Chennai
Nestled away, amid the concrete jungle in Kotturpuram district, Chennai, lies a mini-forest of teak and mahua trees that is home to birds and a flutter of butterflies. For many years, however, this 23,000-sq-ft land was a sight for sore eyes until recently when Dr Alby John Varghese, Regional Deputy Commissioner (South Region) of the Greater Chennai Corporation, along with his team decided to create a Miyawaki forest.
The Miyawaki Way
The site at Kotturpuram, which lies on the southern banks of the River Adyar, had been plagued with construction debris and household waste that was a result of illegal dumping that had been going on for over 15 years. The site had become a thorn in the side of the Greater Chennai Corporation with complaints pouring in almost every fortnight.
IAS Deputy Commissioner, Alby John says, “We kept clearing the waste but due to the space being easily accessible there was rampant dumping of waste which would pile up again within a month. ???
Waste at Kotturpuram before the Miyawaki forest
To break this cycle, the Chennai Corporation decided to transform the land. Initially, the corporation planned to go ahead with a plantation however after experts were consulted they found that the land was unfit for cultivation as there was a pile of around 3 to 4 feet high of concrete debris dumped on it. It was then that officer Alby suggested the idea of a Miyawaki forest.
The Miyawaki method is an afforestation technique named after the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki who pioneered this technique. This method, also known as the Potted Seedling Method, involves planting native vegetation close to each other to create dense multilayered forests. This approach ensures that plant growth is 10 times faster and 30 times denser than a usual plantation. The biggest advantage of this method is that the forest becomes maintenance-free after the first three years and becomes a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Having had prior knowledge of the Miyawaki method at his previous posting in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, Alby spearheaded the initiative at Kotturpuram. He highlights the three most important features of the method saying, “The three pillars of the Miyawaki method are; firstly, preparing the soil by excavating it and ensuring it is mixed with manure. The second is to plant densely so that the trees grow upwards and not branch out. The final step is to plant only native trees. These are the crucial elements of the method. ???
The entire initiative took three months from its inception in November 2019. Around 2,000 metric tonnes of concrete debris were removed and new soil that was mixed with organic manure was transported to the site.

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