2 min readMumbaiFeb 22, 2018 03:08 AM IST
First published on: Feb 22, 2018 at 03:07 AM IST
Bombay High Court (Express Photo by Pradeep Kocharekar/Files)
The Bombay High Court instructed the Mumbai and Thane municipal commissioners Wednesday not to grant permission for tree felling until the next hearing on March 23, except in the eventuality of an urgency.
A petition was filed in 2015 by Zoru Bhathena, a resident of Kandivali, for protecting and preserving Mumbai’s tree cover. The petitioner challenged the newly added Section 8(6) of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Act, 2016, which delegates the functions and powers of the Tree Authority to the Municipal Commissioner for tree felling proposals involving 25 or fewer trees.
The Act has been challenged stating that the Municipal Commissioner neither has the time nor the expertise to attend to this issue.
The bench of Justice A S Oka and Justice P N Deshmukh passed the order asking the municipal commissioners not to grant any permission on pending applications, nor take any decision on applications regarding cutting of trees until March 23.
The court said the only exception would be in cases of “extreme emergency” that involved the threat of loss of human life or property. The court also directed the Maharashtra advocate-general to file an affidavit within two weeks detailing the procedure being followed by the municipalities, while taking up tree cutting applications.
Hearing another petition filed last year relating to tree cutting in Thane, filed by Rohan Joshi, the Thane Municipal Corporation through a letter informed the court that after various hearings they are inclined to dissolve the present Tree Authority.
After it is dissolved, steps to reconstitute the authority would begin. The bench asked the civic body to inform them about the guidelines to be followed while reconstituting the authority.
Bombay High Court (Express Photo by Pradeep Kocharekar/Files)
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