In a win for the BJP government in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed all petitions against the cutting of 2,700 trees for the metro car shed and refused to declare Mumbai's Aarey Colony as a forest area, reports CNN-New18.
Activists had been opposing the proposed felling of 2,700 trees in Aarey to make way for the metro car shed and demanding relocation of the depot, which is part of the Metro III project.
Aerial view of Aarey Colony. Twitter @SaveAarey
Ever since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s Tree Authority in August gave its approval on felling around 2,700 trees in what experts say is a forested area, the ‘Save Aarey’ movement has picked up the pace with people from all over the city coming together for peaceful protests and demonstrations against the proposal. The metro shed project, claim activists, is likely to rob Mumbai of its unique biodiversity, and one of its last frontiers against flooding.
An environmental activist approached the Bombay High Court on Tuesday against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) approval for felling and transplanting over 2,600 trees in and from the Aarey area in the metropolis. In his petition, activist Zoru Bathena said the decision of the BMC's Tree Authority, taken on 29 August this year, approving the felling of trees to make way for a metro car shed was not in accordance with a previous order of the high court.
The petitioner said the Tree Authority did not follow the due process while approving the felling of trees and urged the HC to direct the BMC to submit all details of the Tree Authority's meeting in which the decision was taken. He also urged the court to stay the Tree Authority's resolution approving the felling of such trees until further orders. The plea is likely to be taken up for hearing by a bench led by Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog in the next few days.
On 20 September, the Maharashtra government had told the court that Aarey cannot be declared a forest just because of its greenery.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited had argued in court that the project was of paramount importance for the city. "Every day 10 persons die due to overcrowding in local suburban trains. The Metro project will ease the pressure from the trains," MMRCL counsel Ashutosh Kumbhakoni had said.
from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2VcHK8J
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