2,072 trees to be chopped for Metro car shed: Aarey residents, activists come together for city’s ‘green lungs’

Those who showed up to register their objections included members of political parties, environmental activists and residents of Aarey Milk Colony.

BMC’s Superintendent of Gardens and Tree Officer, Jitendra Pardeshi, received nearly 40,000 suggestions and objections against the felling of trees in Aarey. “We have received nearly 40,000 suggestions and objections from around 20 organisations and individual members. We will scrutinise each one and seek replies on them from MMRCL (Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited). Based on that, a factual report will be submitted before the tree authority committee, which will take a decision,” he added.

Mufaddal Hararwala, who was among the hundreds objecting to the felling of trees, said: “Aarey is Mumbai’s green lungs and it is important that it must be preserved, I am not against the Metro plan, but I think it should be shifted as Aarey is the last surviving green patch in Mumbai. The government has alternatives like Kalina and Kanjurmarg but they want to usurp the trees in the Aarey colony.”

Jim Sarb, an actor, said: “The figure 2,702 must seem like a small number for the government but it is not. Aarey is one of our green lungs and the trees prevent flooding in Andheri and Goregaon… The MMRCL did not have permissions to cut the trees and they are not abiding by the law. I believe that there are seven different alternative spots for the Metro car shed.’’

Ruben Mascarenhas, a member of the AAP, said: “The tree officer and the MMRCL official ran away without giving a decision. Even if the MMRCL gets permission, they are supposed to notify everybody who essentially raised objections and they didn’t do that. They still will cut the trees… how can they do that?”

“When we had wanted to see the permission to fell the trees and also asked which trees would be cut and whether required conditions for the same was being met, they had said they would file an affidavit in court. Today was the deadline (to file the affidavit) and they haven’t filed anything. Right now, we don’t know which trees are to be cut… these trees need to be numbered,” he added.

Activist Zoru Bhathena said, ‘’Basically, this is a forest and without the permission of the forest authority, you cannot cut trees, as the tree authority does not have jurisdiction here. So, if the tree authority says that it has the permission, we say show us the paperwork. In 2014, when the same matter was discussed, around 2,200 trees were to be cut… the government told them to bring down the number of trees to be cut but the MMRCL had then increased it to 2,702…”