THE TREE authority approved the cutting and transplant of 664 trees for various projects on Tuesday. For the first time, three proposals each required felling of more than 200 trees sent to the state-level committee following the recent amendment in the Tree Act. According to the Standing Committee Chairman Yashwant Jadhav, who is also a member of Tree Authority, a total of 22 proposals were tabled before the authority for approval on Tuesday. “Of which 10 were approved and three will be sent to the state government. The authority cleared the cutting and transplant of 485 and 179 trees respectively,” said Jadhav. On July 6, the state government amended Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Preservation & Protection of Trees Act, 1975 under which trees more than 50-years-old given as heritage status and chopping of more than 200 trees will require permission from the state-level committee. “This is the first time that a proposal requiring the cutting of more than 200 trees will be sent to the state government since the amendment came into force. Now, TA has decided that all such proposals will be sent directly to the state committee,” said a senior official from BMC. All three proposals require tree cutting and transplant for Metro rail projects like Metro projects, officials said.
