After reeling cries over the past two days by pro-environment groups and concerned citizens who protested against the felling of trees in Mumbai¡¯s Aarey Colony, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered that no more trees should be cut while also recording an undertaking by the Maharashtra government to assure the same.
The decision, however, came ?after at least 2134 trees have already been chopped.?
On the intervening nights of October 4 and 5, a dangerous precedent was set by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRC) as it began axing the trees when nothing but the darkness prevailed. The move which came after the Bombay High Court dismissed all petitions against the felling of over 2,500 trees in Aarey for a metro depot attracted the ire of environment activists who thronged Aarey colony in large numbers to register their protest.?
But the imposition of Section 144 of the IPC gave the MMRC a free pass to carry out the assault whereas 29 protesting citizens were detained.?
As the Supreme Court orders hit the headlines early Monday morning, netizens found themselves caught in a strange fix as they could not decide whether to celebrate or express regret as the damage had already been done.?
People from several walks of life, including celebrities and key figures from political and sports arenas, along with common people, took to Twitter to express their dismay.?
The court had convened special sitting by converting a representation by a group of law students into a Public Interest Litigation. In the meanwhile, Section 144 was lifted in the run up to the urgent hearing of the case but was imposed once again.