18th March, 2011
The Lagos State government has unveiled three trucks for uprooting trees and transplanting them.
The trucks, Spade Transplanters, are manufactured in the United States. The trucks are specially designed to uproot trees without harming the roots, and transfer them to another location to be replanted by the same device.
The trucks were recently unveiled by the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire. A demonstration of how the trucks works was also held, as it uprooted a tree and replanted it in another location.
With the new trucks, Banire said the era of cutting trees in Lagos State was over, adding that anyone who henceforth cut down trees would be dealt with.
According to him, anyone who wanted to get rid of a tree should report to the Ministry of the Environment which would come and uproot the tree and take it to another location for transplanting.
He said the owner of the tree to be uprooted would have to pay a token for the service.
Banire lamented indiscriminate cutting of trees in the Lagos metropolis, adding that if such act was left unchecked, a time would come when there would be no trees again.
On the maintenance of the trucks, the commissioner said there were consultants to manage that aspect, adding that the cost of hiring the trucks to uproot trees was minimal.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Dr. Titi Anibaba, said the acquisition of the trucks was part of the greening programme of the state government as it would help mitigate the impact of climate change.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga