Another year's "flying floc season" is coming, the fruit hair of the plane tree on the street is annoying, in Yanjing Village, Yexie Town, a piece of sycamore forest is planted in front of the villagers' houses, and the fly flakes "invade", seriously affecting the lives of the villagers. To the villagers' frustration, the large number of plane trees in front of them should have been removed by the end of 2023, but the cleanup work has repeatedly been in trouble. At present, having a comfortable living environment has become the biggest wish of the villagers.
Villager: I don't even dare to open the window
In the memory of Mr. Fan, a villager, every year in late April, the house would be filled with the fruit hairs of the plane trees, "from the living room to the room, there is no corner to avoid, and a thick pile can be swept out every few hours." Not only that, but since the plane tree is only a stone's throw away from the door of the house, there will be rows of small insects crawling into the house, "the old people in the family really can't stand this kind of day." Another villager, Aunt Shen, bluntly said that when it comes to the season of fluttering wool, no beds, chairs and other places are spared, "I was already coughing, but now the more I cough, the more I cough, the worse it gets, and I usually don't even dare to open the window."
The reporter learned that a total of 57 acres of sycamore trees are planted in the village, which is "French sycamore", the scientific name is two-ball plane tree, every time the new leaves of the sycamore tree fall off, there will be bud linching, and after the fruit is ripe, the fruit ball will produce a large number of needle-like floc after breaking. Due to its fast growth, thick shade, resistance to pruning, and long life, the plane tree is often used as an urban street tree, and as long as it is properly pruned, it can reduce the production of fruit hair.
However, the "haircut" measures commonly used for trees have little effect on the plane forest in front of them. Mr. Fan told reporters that the village will indeed arrange special personnel to come to deal with it from time to time, and there are obvious pruning marks on the branches. "But there are patches of plane trees here, and the distance is so close, it is useless to rely on medicine and pruning alone, and we have been 'tossed' in this way for the past few years. Mr. Fan said.
Village Committee: Sent a letter in advance to inform the tenant, but the tenant repeatedly delayed
The villagers desperately wanted all the sycamore trees to be removed as soon as possible, and the village committee sent a letter early to inform the tenant to move out, but the sycamore trees have not been moved out so far.
Shen Weidong, secretary of the general party branch of Yanjing Village, told reporters that on January 1, 2005, the Yanjing Village Committee signed a contract with Shanghai Yuan Caitang Urban Landscape Art Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yuan Caitang Company") to lease 57 acres of land in the village to the company for planting seedlings and flowers, and the contract expired on December 31, 2023. According to the contract, Yuan Caitang Company should complete the removal of all the sycamore trees before the expiration of the contract. "When we learned about the villagers' distress, we decided not to renew our contract with the company, and on September 15 last year, we sent a letter to the company asking them to move the sycamore trees as soon as possible before they expired. Shen Weidong said.
However, until the beginning of December last year, no trees had been moved. On December 22, Yuan Caitang, the relevant person in charge of the company, came to the village committee to discuss, saying that he needed a three-month grace period, and wrote a letter of commitment to ensure that all the plane trees would be cleaned up by the end of March 2024. What the village committee did not expect was that on March 30 this year, Yuan Caitang's company sent another "business invitation letter", saying that the National Forestry and Grassland Administration issued an announcement related to the 2024 American white moth epidemic area, of which Songjiang District of Shanghai was in this list.
On the one hand, the villagers are uneasy, and on the other hand, the tenant is on the grounds of force majeure, Shen Weidong is helpless and anxious, "We consulted a lawyer and are ready to take legal measures to sue immediately, hoping that the other party can remove the trees as soon as possible." For the upcoming period of high incidence of sycamore, Shen Weidong also said that the village has always maintained close communication with relevant departments, and will continue to do its best to relieve the difficulties of the villagers.
District Forestry Station: It can be transported through quarantine
Regarding the statement that the transportation of trees will be prohibited in the event of an epidemic, the reporter saw on the official website of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration that in the "2024 American White Moth Epidemic Area (No. 6 of 2024) Announcement" publicly released on February 26, 2024, 8 administrative regions including Songjiang, Minhang, and Baoshan in Shanghai are on the list.
Cai Feng, deputy director of the Songjiang District Forestry Station, said that in accordance with the requirements of epidemic area control, it is indeed forbidden to transport trees in epidemic areas. "However, if it is a special circumstance that must be transported, it is necessary to fully sanitize the transferred seedlings and pass the inspection and quarantine of relevant departments, and also need to pass the reception requirements of the quarantine department where the receiver is located." Cai Feng said. This also means that the trees can be transported after they have been fully sanitized and the relevant quarantine certificates have been obtained.
Subsequently, the reporter called Yuan Caitang Company and learned from the company's lawyer that the transportation plan of the trees could only be shelved because the relevant quarantine certificate for transportation had not been obtained. In response to the distress caused by the sycamore tree to the villagers, the lawyer said that it is necessary to negotiate with the person in charge of the company and strive to take measures as soon as possible.
It is worth noting that the information of "Tianyancha" shows that Yuan Caitang Company was registered in Jinshan District in 1999 and is currently in a state of revocation and non-cancellation.
Lawyer: The tenant has breached the contract, and it is a violation to delay moving out
As the Qingyun Wutong was delayed again and again, some villagers questioned whether the epidemic area was an excuse for Yuan Caitang's inaction, and how to solve the impact on the villagers.
In this regard, Yang Yifei, a lawyer at Shanghai Fengzhao Law Firm, said that according to the provisions of the land lease agreement, the lessee should return the leased property, that is, the leased land, upon the expiration of the lease term. The leased property to be returned should be the land after the seedlings are removed, so as to comply with the contract. Yuan Caitang's company should have moved the seedlings immediately after the expiration of the lease period, especially if the village committee had sent a letter in advance informing them that they would not renew the lease. As for the "American white moth epidemic area" mentioned later, since the lessee can overcome the obstacles caused by the "American white moth epidemic area" by moving out of the seedlings, it should move out as soon as possible, otherwise, it is a violation to delay the removal of the trees. "The village committee can sue the company and demand that it move out of the seedlings and return the leased land. Yang Yifei said that although the tenant's business license has been revoked, it still has the standing to be the subject of litigation, and if the company defaults on rent and incurs occupancy fees during the period when the lease expires, the village committee can claim together. If the company still does not take the initiative to perform the effective judgment after receiving the effective judgment, the village committee may apply to the court for compulsory enforcement of the judgment.
In view of the urgency of the villagers to solve the Wutong catkins, Yang Yifei also said that the village committee can inform the tenant by sending a letter to ask it to move out within a time limit, and if it does not move out within the time limit, the village committee will dispose of it itself. "However, it is difficult to dispose of items such as seedlings, so it is necessary to comprehensively consider whether there are conditions for disposal. Yang Yifei said.
It is worth mentioning that as of press time, the relevant materials of the Wutong Forest in Yanjing Village have been submitted to the court and entered the pre-litigation mediation stage. The village committee will also distribute masks, strengthen pruning, cleaning and other ways to alleviate the troubles caused by flying flakes to the lives of villagers.
Text, pictures: Zhang Li
Editor: Zhou Zhenghao