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The Bombay High Court has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to produce the list of 28 trees that are to be cut for the Napean Sea Road widening project. According to petitioners Bittu Sahgal and others,based on the BMCs reply,they will see if those trees can be transplanted.
A division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice D Y Chandrachud also sought answers from the corporation regarding 38 missing trees in the area. According to the petitioners,the Tree Authority had listed 235 trees on the Napean Sea Road in 2006. However,BMC has told the court that there are only 197 trees in the area now. The court has asked the BMC to file an affidavit on all these issues before the next hearing on April 9.
However,corporation states that this proposal is technically flawed due to various reasons.
Sahgal in his affidavit filed on Tuesday stated that they are not opposed to the widening of Nepean Sea Road. However,the petitioners believe that the locality needs residential area planning that prioritizes smooth traffic flow,pedestrian comfort,public transport such as taxi stands and bus shelters,whilst protecting,to the maximum extent possible,the character of the neighbourhood,particularly the verdant surrounds, the affidavit stated.
Specifying that they are just concerned about losing the tree cover in the area,Sahgal said,A six-lane road here will only add up to the traffic congestion. Instead,we can simply have a four-lane road,plus two service lanes on each side where vehicles can stop in case of a breakdown. Sahgal said all that the residents wanted was to work in agreement with the BMC on the issue.
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