As many as 91 trees could be sent to the chopping block to clear the way for the Dahisar-Andheri East Metro line 7 and the Dahisar-D N Nagar Metro line 2A
As many as 91 trees could be sent to the chopping block to clear the way for the Dahisar-Andheri East Metro line 7 and the Dahisar-D N Nagar Metro line 2A. The BMC issued a public notice to this effect, barely a fortnight after similarly announcing that 444 trees were to be cut in Aarey Colony for Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz).
A majority of the trees are to be cut opposite the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, as they are too close to the Metro 7 corridor
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Don't want to lose Mumbai's trees in this manner? It's not too late: The Tree Authority of the BMC will accept suggestions and objections from citizens till November 17.
Green activists are up in arms, alleging that the plans to build the Metro 3 car depot in Aarey will already cost more than 3,000 trees. Environment lover Dheeraj Pujari said, "We have a classic example of the cost of destroying the environment before us in Delhi. The urban planners and the government should think about this seriously. There is no doubt that the Metro corridor is necessary to solve our commuting woes, but it should be planned in a manner that saves as many trees as possible."
The Tree Authority's notice states that the trees will have to be cut or transplanted. Most of the at-risk trees – as many as 58 – are right opposite the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the R-Central ward in Borivli East. These trees are said to be in the way of the construction of elevated stations of Metro 7 on the Western Express Highway. Another 14 trees along the same alignment will be removed near Devi Pada. A third batch of 19 trees near the near Dahisar road overbridge are in the way of Metro 2A.
Nelson D'Souza, another green activist, said, "The authorities term those who oppose the cutting of trees as anti-development, which is not correct. The reason why people oppose it is because despite claims about transplantation, the results have not been up to the mark. If the authorities prove that they really do take care of trees that are transplanted, I don't think people will oppose it."
You have a say in this
If you want to express objections to the authorities' plans of cutting trees for Metro projects, you can submit a written application to the Tree Officer at the Tree Authority's office in Byculla. The BMC will accept entries till November 17, 2.30 pm.
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