382 trees to be affected to improve service road adjoining Eastern Freeway in South Mumbai
Before going ahead with the project, the BMC had appointed a project management consultant for mapping the alignment of the roads. The contractor for this project was appointed in 2022.
Officials maintained that the new road will be constructed just beneath the flyover and will run parallel to the freeway. (File Photo)
As many as 382 trees will be affected to improve an existing service road that passes adjoining the Eastern Freeway between Bhakti Park and Jijamata Chowk in south Mumbai.
According to the Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation’s (BMC) notification, a total of 316 trees will be felled while 66 trees will be transplanted.
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This comes a week after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to the Mumbai civic body, along with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), for the megapolis’s depleting green cover.
According to civic officials, the proposed service road will be 4km-long, for which corpus of Rs 62 crore has been earmarked for the project.
“There is a main road beneath the Eastern Freeway flyover that extends between Daya Shankar Marg and Bombay Port Trust (BPT), adjoining which the service road will be created. Earlier, this road was maintained by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and it was handed over to BMC after the freeway was formally opened. Therefore, we decided to create this service road since the width of the existing road was inadequate,” said a civic official.
Officials maintained that the new road will be constructed just beneath the flyover and will run parallel to the freeway. “The current width of the existing road is 40 metres, while it should ideally have been 60 metres. The BMC’s Development Plan of 2034 also mandates creation of a 10 metre wide service road, alongside any main road. Due to the lack of adequate space, emergency vehicles like ambulance and fire engines face difficulties while passing through this route,” the official said.
Before going ahead with the project, the BMC had appointed a project management consultant for mapping the alignment of the roads. The contractor for this project was appointed in 2022.
“The tree department has issued a notification as per its rules so that if citizens have suggestions and objections, they can write to us. All the trees that are falling in the alignment of the road have been marked and a decision on cutting/transplanting them will be taken up only in the final stages of construction works,” an official from tree department said.
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Earlier on March 26, the Indian Express had reported how between 2018 and 2023, as many as 21,028 trees were felled by the BMC to make way for various infrastructure projects in Mumbai. The report also pointed out how the survival rate of transplanted trees only stand at 20% in Mumbai and flagged the depletion of green cover to be a major contributing factor behind Mumbai’s pollution.
Following this, the NGT on April 16 took cognisance of the Express report and issued notices to the authorities asking for an explanation.
Pratip Acharya is a seasoned journalist based in Mumbai reporting for The Indian Express. With a career spanning over a decade, his work demonstrates strong Expertise and Authority in critical urban issues, civic affairs, and electoral politics across Eastern and Western India.
Expertise & Authority
Current Role: Journalist, The Indian Express (IE), reporting from Mumbai.
Core Authority: Pratip's reporting focuses sharply on local democracy and development, specializing in:
Urban Governance and Civic Affairs: Providing in-depth analysis of municipal decision-making, city planning, and local infrastructure, essential for informed urban reporting.
City Politics and Environment: Covering the political dynamics of Mumbai and surrounding areas, alongside critical environmental challenges impacting the metro region.
Electoral Coverage (High-Stakes Experience): He has extensive experience in high-stakes political reporting, having covered major elections, establishing his Trustworthiness in political analysis:
National: Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019.
State: West Bengal Assembly elections in 2016 and Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019.
Major Assignments (Ground Reporting): Pratip demonstrated commitment during crises by conducting ground reporting throughout the Covid-19 pandemic since its breakout in 2020, offering first-hand accounts and analysis of the public health crisis.
Experience
Extensive Experience: Starting his career in 2014, Pratip has built his foundation across multiple prominent English dailies:
Started at The Times of India in Kolkata (2014).
Relocated to Mumbai (2016) and worked with The Free Press Journal and Hindustan Times before joining The Indian Express.
Pratip Acharya's diverse experience across major publications, coupled with his specialized focus on the intricate details of urban governance and a track record of covering major electoral and health crises, establishes him as a trusted and authoritative source for news from India's critical metropolitan centres. ... Read More
