Aarey petitions dismissed, HC clears axing of more than 2700 trees

In a setback to environmental activists the Bombay High Court on Friday refused to declare Aarey colony a forest and also declined to quash the BMC tree authoritys decision allowing felling of over 2600 trees in the suburban green zone to pave way for a metro carshed A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre dismissed four petitions filed by NGOs and environmental activists on issues related to Aarey Colony in Goregaon a major green lung of the metropolisOne of the pleas filed by the citybased NGO Vanshakti sought that Aarey be declared a forest and ecologically sensitive zone while another petition by green activist Zoru Bathena pleaded the area be given the status of a floodplainTwo separate petitions were filed by Bathena and Shiv Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav challenging the decision of the BMC tree authority permitting the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd MMRCL to cut 2656 trees to construct a metro carshed in Aarey colonyThe Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had given the tree hacking approval on August 29 2019 triggering protests by green activists and common citizens who launched a Save Aarey campaignOn the Vanshakti petition the court said The remedy is before the Supreme Court or the National Green Tribunal We have applied the principle of commonality and not decided on meritThe HC said it was also dismissing the petitions filed by Bathena and Jadhav against the approval for cutting trees The bench imposed a fine of Rs 50000 on Jadhav a member of the BMC tree authority a body whose approval is mandatory for cutting any tree in the city for infrastructure or other projects We gave you Jadhav a choice to withdraw the petition but you chose to pursue it the court saidVanshakti in its plea claimed Aarey colony measuring 1287 hectares had several exotic flora and faunaThe Maharashtra government has claimed Aarey colony cannot be termed a forest and that the issue has been already decided by another HC benchAdvocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni appearing for the state earlier had said an appeal against the HC order refusing to declare Aarey a forest is currently pending before the Supreme CourtBathena in his plea challenged the decision taken by the tree authority granting permission to cut trees The proposed carshed part of the metro 3 project will occupy 33 hectares in the southern part of Aarey colonyThe authority has approved felling of 2185 trees and transplanting uprooting from the original spot and replanting them at an alternate spot 461 trees from the areaThe authoritys approval is mandatory for felling of more than 20 trees at a time at any place in the cityBathenas counsel Janak Dwarkadas had argued earlier that the authoritys decision was taken in haste and without proper application of mindThe MMRCL and the BMC in their affidavits in response to Bathenas plea said the petition was stalling a public transport project which is in larger public interest and a vital public infrastructure The affidavits claimed that the metro project was environmentfriendly and needs to be completed expeditiouslyThe metro project is expected to wean people away from using cars taxis and twowheelers and hence will result in sharp reduction in atmospheric pollution and environmental hazards caused by automobile exhaust gas the MMRCL and BMC affidavits saidThe MMRCL in its affidavit said Aarey is not a pristine area of land or has a dense tree cover or a naturally forested area as claimed by the petitioner It said the delay in construction of the carshed will cause a Rs 423crore loss per day to the company and the state governmentCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates