MAINTENANCE PROTOCAL

Nagpur is witnessing rapid urban transformation driven by large-scale infrastructure projects such as metro expansion, fly-overs and real estate development. While this growth is essential for economic mobility and urban efficiency. However, it has also intensified, manifesting in declining green cover, raising urban heat, pressure on water systems and loss of ecological buffers. Levellers foundation has planted over 400 trees since 2024 at Ravi Nagar Vasahat Nagpur by community-led green initiative under Levellers Foundation green initiative with a vision of making it the lungs of Nagpur city by strengthening neighbourhood-level urban ecology. Currently, 400+ trees are in active maintenance.

The team at Levellers foundation, led by Ar. Samruddhi Chaphale, project lead Sankalp Godghate, environmentalist, Rohit Deshpande and Baba Deshpande and Tanaya Chaphale have collaborated with Green Valley Garden contractor welfare association led by Swapnil Dhuri and labourers Anand and Ram for their maintenance protocol mission. Together we are regularly watering, trimming, building rings in the soil around the plants for efficient water retention and thus maintaining the already planted trees in Ravi Nagar Vasahat during the harsh Summers of Nagpur. As the Tree Man of Nagpur, Shri. Baba Deshpande says, planting trees is not as important as saving one, we at Levellers foundation under his guidance continue to nurture our plants from time to time.

As for future aim, led by Levellers Foundation, an architects’ organisation with active on ground practice, we shall continue to plant more trees in the coming rainy season and carry out various on ground research and survey to explore how cities like Nagpur can strike a long-term balance between infrastructure development and environmental sustainability. The research will seek to examine the pace and nature of infrastructure growth in Nagpur and critically assess its environmental implications. It will cater to policy oriented recommendations and a public facing video series to enable citizen participation and informed urban decision making.