From the past to the present, the WhatsApp has been whirring with ire and fire about trees that have been lit for beautification purposes, for the G20 and general efforts to make bright lights part of the city aesthetic.

This, ironically at a time when the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group meeting under India’s G20 presidency, has been held in the city. Lights on trees are, in fact, not environment friendly and these beautification initiatives, even if well-intentioned, seem to be skewed. There is a significant amount of light pollution with the sudden beams of lights everywhere in the city. This can negatively impact a tree and its ecosystem. Birds, squirrels and insects live in trees and the added light on trees can play havoc with their health, especially at night time. When the health of these creatures who live within and are part of the ecosystem is affected, then the health of the tree itself is adversely impacted. This is the larger picture. Then, there are birds which migrate at night. They are guided by the light of the stars. All this additional lighting, emitting heat too, is counterproductive.

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Instead, our civic authorities, local leaders can up the beauty quotient by planting more trees. That is the best aesthetic input and addition for Mumbai, simply increase the green. Use the funds spent for this inane lighting exercise instead for good quality soil. We can also have flower beds at the base near the trees. While a good-looking city is important, the way we go about it, ensuring sustainability and a balance between nature and new infrastructure is vital.

I like the effort going into painting walls, painting flyovers; even gardens under flyovers are a good idea. Vertical gardens where there is no place for a traditional, horizontal garden are eye-pleasing too. Every effort though, utmost in fact has to be to retain existing green space and then, a significant move forward would be to up that green percentage. So our axiom should not be bright and beautiful but green and gorgeous, truly. Let nature be the décor that Mumbai needs for the G20 and beyond.
 
As told to Hemal Ashar

The columnist is a children’s nature book writer and part of the Save Rani Bagh Foundation.