1k trees to shift as Bengal’s largest translocation project takes shape in Deocha Pachami
Times of India | 1 April 2025
KOLKATA: The state will witness the largest translocation of trees for a single project at Birbhum's Deocha Pachami, the largest coal block in Asia, where about 1,000 full-grown trees will be shifted to a new location before mining work begins.
The tree varieties include fully grown mahua, arjun, sal and sirish. A close second in Bengal would be the Joka-Eden Gardens Purple Line Metro project that will see translocation of 691 trees from the Maidan, say experts.
West Bengal Power Development Corporation, the state govt's power generation arm, has already translocated 185 trees from the mining site, its chairman and managing director P B Salim told TOI.
Initially, 326 acres at Deocha Pachami that are free of human habitation and surface infrastructure have been identified for basalt mining up to a depth of 80 metres. "In the first phase, work has started in an area covering 12 acres that had 185 trees, mostly mahua and arjun.
Keeping in mind the local tribal community's reverence and attachment with these trees, WBPDCL and the district administration has decided to translocate these trees to a vacant plot within two km of the site," Salim added.
Birbhum additional district magistrate Babulal Mahato, who is in charge of the translocation, said the forest department was initially sceptical since shifting mahua trees is not an easy task. Trunks of mahua trees have circumferences of about 109 cm while for other trees it ranges between 60 cm and 111 cm. And, these mahua trees are fully grown and more than 50 years old.
Birbhum additional DM Babulal Mahato, an alumnus of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, has taken interest in the translocation. "We floated a tender and appointed an empanelled agency of IIT Kharagpur," he said.
An expert from Hyderabad, Ramchandra Appari, considered the best in the business, has been roped in.
"Tribals worship mahua trees, so cutting these is considered very ominous," Mahato said, adding some of the translocated trees have already started flowering.
According to Mahato, the translocation at Deocha was the largest for any mining project in the country. "Most projects involve translocation of less than 50 trees. In Kolkata, about 25-30 trees were shifted for the Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan. Even Appari believes this is perhaps the largest exercise, " he said.