Metro III Car Shed: Trees in Aarey being ‘poisoned’ to widen road, say residents

“One of the residents of Royal Palms called and informed me that he saw the men pouring chemicals on a couple of trees around 10 pm on Monday. When he enquired with those men, they said they were trying to widen the road,” said Padmaja Krishnan, one of the core members of the Save Aarey Campaign.

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Residents also found freshly dug pits in Aarey Colony. Another member of the campaign said, “These trees are on the main Aarey Road and vehicles have to zigzag around them. These holes looked drilled. Chemically killing the trees is certainly easier than seeking permission to cut them,” said Sonia Sahu, another resident and member of the Save Aarey Campaign.

The group is already campaigning to save the 2,298 trees slated to be axed to make way for the car shed for the Metro 3 line. Politicians across parties have rallied behind the group to save the city’s last existing green lung. A human chain has been planned on March 20 in Aarey to garner more support for the cause.

Forced by the growing opposition, CM Devendra Fadnavis on March 2 constituted an expert panel to look into the project and submit a report within a month.The panel will study alternative sites for the Metro car shed, failing which, it will suggest the best technology and agency to ensure proper transplantation of trees in Aarey. For the Metro car shed, 254 trees from Aarey are proposed to be cut, and 2,044 trees are proposed to be transplanted.

Civic officials said they have received no complaint so far and will look into the matter. “We have got no complaint about poisoning of any trees. We will look into the matter,” said Ramakant Biradar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner.

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