Bombay HC Allows Cutting Of Over 21,000 Mangroves In Mumbai, Thane And Palghar For Bullet Train

The Bombay High Court on Friday permitted the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) to cut around 20,000 mangrove trees across Mumbai, Palghar and Thane for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.

The HC bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja said that while carrying out the felling, the NHSRCL will have to comply with the terms and conditions set out in the approvals granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).

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Challenging total freeze on destruction of mangroves

The ruling came in a plea filed by the NHSRCL against a 2018 HC order following which a "total freeze" was in place on the destruction of mangroves across the state and permission has to be sought from the high court each time an authority wishes to fell mangroves for any public project.

During the hearing, NHSRCL informed the court that the number of mangroves to be felled has been reduced to fewer than half (from 53,467 to 21,997) and sought permission for their removal in Thane, Mumbai and Palghar districts.

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Will plant five times the total

NHSRCL also assured the court it would plant five times the total mangroves that were earlier proposed to be felled and the number would not be reduced even after the revised figures.

Land acquisition and environmental concerns had delayed the 508-km high speed rail corridor between Ahmedabad and Mumbai which was announced in 2017.

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How Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train got delayed

In 2019 the NHSRCL which is the nodal agency for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor was forced to redesign the Thane station after protests from environmentalists who claimed that the project will affect tens of thousands of mangroves spread over 13.36 hectares.

Deadlines including for the construction and completion of the project had to be extended due to this.

The bullet train, which was originally scheduled to become operational in 2023 now has a launch date in 2026.

AFP

In the court, an NGO, 'Bombay Environmental Action Group', had opposed the plea by the NHSRCL arguing that no study was undertaken about the survival rate of saplings to be planted as a compensatory measure and the Environmental Impact Assessment report for felling of trees has not been provided.

NHSRCL denied the objections raised by the NGO and claimed that it had availed required approvals for the felling of trees for the project of public importance and would compensate for the loss occurring due to the same by planting saplings as directed.

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