Nestled away, amid the concrete jungle in Kotturpuram district, Chennai, lies a mini-forest of teak and mahua trees that is home to birds and a flutter of butterflies. For many years, however, this 23,000-sq-ft land was a sight for sore eyes until recently when Dr Alby John Varghese, Regional Deputy Commissioner (South Region) of the Greater Chennai Corporation, along with his team decided to create a Miyawaki forest.
The Miyawaki Way
The site at Kotturpuram, which lies on the southern banks of the River Adyar, had been plagued with construction debris and household waste that was a result of illegal dumping that had been going on for over 15 years. The site had become a thorn in the side of the Greater Chennai Corporation with complaints pouring in almost every fortnight.
IAS Deputy Commissioner, Alby John says, “We kept clearing the waste but due to the space being easily accessible there was rampant dumping of waste which would pile up again within a month.”
