Building a house? Make room for 2 trees too

KATHMANDU, JAN 01 - With a view to increasing greenery in the Capital city and compensating for the environmental degradation caused by the road expansion drive, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is planning to make tree plantation mandatory while seeking approval for a house map.
After January 14, those wishing to build a new house will need to allocate space for at least two trees before making a sketch for the house.
According to KMC’s Executive Director Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, a commitment for at least two trees each above five feet will be mandatory for the house map to be approved. “As the Capital is losing trees like never before, we hope the new initiative will contribute to increasing the greenery,” said Adhikari.
The trees will need to be planted in 20 percent of the open space allocated for the construction, which is already mandatory. If the open space is lacking, greenery on the rooftop will need to be maintained. The metropolis will be recommending bonsai trees for rooftops. Apartments will also need to allocate a garden and place for potted plants on every floor.
“The new initiative will be implemented strictly,” said Adhikari. “We will not give house completion certificates unless the conditions are satisfied.”
Data from the Urban Development Division at the KMC show that in 1999, around 33 percent of the Valley was covered by forests, particularly the Nagarjun, Shivapuri, Bajrabarahi, Bouddha and Chandragiri areas.
Forest cover receded to around 17 percent in 2000 and while there haven’t been any recent studies, experts claim that the current cover is hardly 10 percent.
The road expansion has further contributed to the denudation of Kathmandu’s streets with many roadside trees chopped down and dozens of green traffic islands demolished.
The Valley, which spreads across 50-square-km, has only four parks.