No Trees Cut In Aarey, Only Bushes, Branches Trimmed, Mumbai Metro Tells SC, Activists Disagree
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) has told the Supreme Court that no trees have been cut in Mumbai's Aarey forest in October 2019.
According to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, in 2019 he had made a statement before the apex court that no further cutting of trees will be done for a metro car shed in Aarey colony, and since then no trees have been cut.
Bushes, branches trimmed, says SG
Mehta said some bushes were there on the ground which have been cleared and some branches were trimmed so that vehicles could pass on an approach road there.
"That trimming took place. That is what I have said on the affidavit. No tree cutting is going on," he said.
The court was hearing a plea by activists alleging that recently the authorities had cut several trees inside Aarey in violation of the SC directives.
The SC on Friday directed that no trees shall be cut in any manner till the next date of hearing, which is on August 10.
Save Aarey, back in spotlight
The issue of Aarey had once again taken center stage since July 1, when the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra assumed office.
Just hours after taking charge, Chief Minister Shinde had made it clear that he was bringing the metro car shed back to Mumbai's Aarey colony.
His predecessor, Uddhav Thackeray had in 2020 said the?proposed car shed has been shifted from Aarey?to Kanjur Marg.
Alleged?tree cutting in Aarey
Amid the protests by environmentalists and a large section of Mumbaikars, on July 25, BMC authorities went inside Aarey and allegedly cut several trees.
Activists who protested were allegedly beaten up by the police and later detained.
Why Aarey is important for Mumbai
The Aarey Milk colony, which is adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai is a one-of-a-kind urban forest in the world.
The colony, spread over 13,000 hectares, is home to over 27 Adivasi villages and inhabits various animal species including leopards.
In the past few years, it had become a battleground for environment vs development after the Devindra Fadnavis government decided to construct a metro car shed there as part of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation's expansion plans.
The Mumbai Metro 3 project comprises a 33.5 km underground corridor running along the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ route. In total, there will be 27 stations out of which 26 will be underground.
The Save Aarey campaign alleges that building the metro car shed in Aarey will open it up for more infrastructure projects in the future.
They fear that it will be the death-bell of Mumbai's green lungs.
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