The garden department of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has booked a builder from Ghodbunder Road for felling two major trees on his plot of land to pave the way for his upcoming building complex. The builder has been fined Rs 50,000 for the offence and he has complied with the civic directives without a fuss. According to the civic body, two members of the Garden Committee (GC) informed the Garden Superintendent (GS) about the chopping down of two ancient trees at Bhawani Nagar. The GS and his subordinates visited the area and found the complaint to be correct. A panchnama was done and the department issued a notice to the builder to pay fine of Rs 10,000 for the two trees. The corporation also directed the builder to plant 10 trees in lieu of the two chopped trees. He was also called upon to deposit Rs 40,000 as security deposit till he complied with the TMC orders. The builder paid Rs 50,000 to the corporation and ended the issue. Interestingly, it has been a common trend amongst many builders of Thane to chop down trees without taking prior permission from the corporation. The garden department simply serves them with notices to pay fines at the rate of Rs 5,000 per tree and directs them to plant five trees of the same species that has been chopped down to compensate for the loss of each tree. The builders are asked to pay security deposit as surety for the plantation of the five trees. The builders and developers, however, prefer to pay the fine amount as well as the security deposit amount to the corporation. The builders never bother to plant the trees as per the directives and allow their security deposit amount to be forfeited. The civic administration has managed to collect more than Rs 10 lakh this year on account of fine and security deposit amount this financial year and the amount is to rise by the end of the financial year.