Why must 100-year-old trees be cut down to build traffic works?

On the morning of December 10, in Ho Chi Minh City, the program "People ask - Government answers" took place, hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council and Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV), with the theme "Management and development of parks and public trees".

Voter Dao Thi Hoa (Ward 14, Go Vap District) asked: "Many 100-year-old trees were cut down to build traffic works. Did Ho Chi Minh City assess the safety and longevity of the trees before constructing the works?"

Regarding this issue, Mr. Vu Van Diep, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Technical Infrastructure Management Center, said that when there is a project to build a traffic project, the relevant parties will carefully study and come up with optimal solutions to minimize the impact on existing works, including urban trees, especially large, old trees.

However, according to Mr. Diep, with the current state of inner city Ho Chi Minh City, choosing construction options to avoid impact or retain trees is almost impossible, because there is no better solution.

Green trees on Truong Sa street, along Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal

Construction projects that require cutting down or relocating trees must be approved by specialized agencies, approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, and implemented according to a very strict process. Trees are carefully assessed for their condition to decide whether to cut down or relocate.

In addition, in the design plan for traffic construction, the investor must propose to plant additional trees equal to or greater than the number of trees that have been relocated or cut down.

"Relocating or cutting down any trees in the city is regrettable, but due to unavoidable circumstances, there is no better solution. Therefore, I hope voters will share and support the functional units when performing their duties, especially when planting replacement trees on existing roads," said Mr. Diep.

The planning project has green park elements, but has not been implemented yet.

Dr. Dinh Quang Diep, lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry (Ho Chi Minh City National University) asked the question: What will Ho Chi Minh City do to achieve the standard of urban green park land of nearly ^7m2 /person?

Not to mention, the current distribution of green areas is uneven, as inner-city and central districts have a large number and area of ​​parks, while new districts and suburban districts have very limited public park land, even though the planned land fund for green parks is very large.

This is the paradox of Ho Chi Minh City because the parks should develop as the urban area develops. From there, Dr. Dinh Quang Diep raised the question of whether the project to adjust the general planning of Ho Chi Minh City until 2040, with a vision to 2060, can solve this "paradox".

Mr. Dang Phu Thanh, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said that in order to achieve the target of urban green land area, recently, relevant units have reviewed land funds in planning projects. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 11,369 hectares of park and green land.

The unit also advised the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to issue a program to develop public parks and trees for the 2020-2030 period, in which the 2020-2025 period will develop an additional 150 hectares of park land and public trees, and the 2026-2030 period will add 450 hectares.

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City has upgraded, renovated and built 405 new parks with a total area of ​​508 hectares. Among them are large parks such as Gia Dinh Park, Go Vap Park, National Cultural History Park, Khanh Hoi Park, and Saigon Bridge.

Workers resting in the green park

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nha, Director of the Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City, also informed that in the past, it was easier for Ho Chi Minh City to plan and build public parks concentrated in central districts because it was not under pressure from population growth and the development of the real estate market.

Currently, in 600 zoning plans in Ho Chi Minh City, all have full facilities for green parks and the plans have been approved. However, the problem is that these plans have not been implemented in the field, so in recent years, green parks have not met the requirements.

"There is a paradox between urban development and greenery. But currently, wherever the population grows, there is also the development of transport infrastructure and social infrastructure. I also recommend that in addition to developing transport infrastructure and technical infrastructure, we should prioritize green areas," said Mr. Nha.

Concluding the program, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, Head of the Urban Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, requested the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction to speed up the implementation of investment projects to develop parks and public trees in the area to soon achieve the targets and tasks.

The Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City needs to soon research and develop a set of standards and land use structures for different types of public parks; provide guidance on establishing and approving plans for using the total land area and detailed construction plans at a scale of 1/500 for each existing park.

In addition, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van also requested that localities review planned green land areas to build public parks according to the plan.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-phai-chat-co-thu-100-tuoi-de-lam-cong-trinh-giao-thong-185231210161227855.htm