What was celebrated as Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s big environmental breakthrough has now turned into a public embarrassment. The 84-year-old, 30-foot Peepal tree—transplanted using a newly acquired ₹5.47 crore machine—now stands dead and abandoned at its new location near Sheetla Mata Mandir on Umred Road, surrounded by garbage, rubble, and zero care.
Originally relocated from Bhande Plot Chowk to make way for the Indora-Dighori flyover, the operation was hyped by officials as a model for “sustainable development.” The NMC boasted about the high-tech transplanter, capable of lifting full-grown trees with hydrated roots. But two months later, that tree resembles nothing more than a lifeless electric pole—no leaves, no shade, no birds, no signs of life.
Local shop owner Sameer Khan, who works just metres away, didn’t mince words: “They never watered it, never added any khad (fertiliser), nothing. They just dumped it here like a dead street pole. It was a burial, not a transplant.”
Environmentalists are furious, pointing out that transplantation is a year-long commitment—not a one-day photo-op. Regular watering, mulching, and soil care are essential, all of which were ignored. Even the High Court had recently slammed the NMC for its fake claims of tree conservation across the city.
This isn’t conservation. It’s civic failure dressed up as green PR. And this dead tree is now a rotting symbol of NMC’s empty promises. A ₹5.47 crore shame planted in full public view.
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