Action Against Those Who Cut Trees In Aarey Forest, But What Is Lost Will Never Be Regained

The contractor and officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) have been booked for alleged tree felling along Metro Line 4 in Thane.

They were booked under relevant sections of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act 1975 on Thane city mayor Naresh Mhaske after six trees were cut along the metro route at Friday night where work is currently underway on Metro Line 4, a 32.32 km route from Wadala in neighbouring Mumbai to Kasarvadavali in Thane.

Mhaske said that despite the Bombay High Court has banned the cutting of trees, the order was not followed in spirit and the trees on the Metro route IV were being cut in darkness.

Mhaske said he received numerous complaints from citizens and NGOs opposing the indiscriminate cutting of trees for the constriction of the Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasar-Vadavali Metro project.

“There is a clear stay on the felling of trees, still they were cut by MMRDA which is a violation of the HC order. The TMC will review the permissions and will ensure that development work is done without cutting trees, unless extremely necessary,” Mhaske said.

The development came a day after newly appointed Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, ordered a stay on construction of metro car shed in Mumbai's green lung Aarey Colony, where protests were held last month against cutting of trees for the work.

The felling of trees in Aarey was one of the highly discussed topics during the recent Maharashtra Assembly polls.?

The previous government of Devendra Fadnavis had been adamant about the construction of the car shed in Aarey, much to the dismay of environmentalists and a large section of Mumbaikars.

The Shiv Sena, which was then an ally of Fadnavis had on several occasions sided with the environmentalists and had criticized the felling of trees.?

?Shiv Sena's youth leader Aditya Thackeray had openly come out against the government after over a thousand trees were cut in Aarey, in early October, hours after the Bombay High Court ruled that the area is not a forest, thus clearing the way for?felling some 2,600 trees?there for the construction of a car shed as part of the Metro Rail project.

The HC had dismissed the plea by environmentalists stating that the issue is pending before the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.

The?Aarey Colony, which spans across 1,287 hectares?and located adjoining the Sanjay Gandhi National Park has been for long a battleground for the development v/s environment debate.

While the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited argues that the project was of paramount importance for the city and that it is not a forest or a floodplain, environmentalists say that Aarey is the lungs of Mumbai and the destruction of the last patch of greenery in the city will have far-reaching environmental consequences.