Activist says lack of clarity makes it difficult to understand what civic body is actually doing
BMC contract workers trimming a tree at Shivji Park. FILE PIC/ASHISH RAJE
Green activists, environmentalists, and concerned citizens have called for greater transparency in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) public notices regarding tree-felling. Activists have flagged repeated instances of inaccurate, incomplete, and at times invalid notifications of tree cutting, which obscure the actual scope of work being carried out.
This lack of clarity has made it difficult for citizens to understand what’s happening in their neighbourhood, effectively discouraging meaningful suggestions and objections to proposed tree removals. As per BMC’s mandate, cutting of trees can be done only after issuing public notices, taking inputs from citizens about cutting of these trees in the form of suggestions and objections, and holding a public hearing before the decision is taken to axe the trees. All of the above takes place within seven days of issuing the public notices.
Citizens have pointed out that the notices often fall short — they frequently lack essential details and feature outdated or non-functional web links, obstructing public engagement and oversight.
‘Same issue since 2022’
On Wednesday, Zoru Bathena, a Mumbai-based green activist, told mid-day: “Just today, they have issued a public notice for felling dangerous trees in the Dadar area. But the notice does not bear details about the number of trees being axed or the reason for cutting them. Moreover, the web link provided in the public notice — which was carried in a few newspapers on Wednesday — is defunct. The online pathway related to the BMC website mentioned in the public notice does not exist.”
Activists have pointed out that this has been the case with public notices regarding the felling of trees, and have cited that they have been highlighting the problem to the civic body since 2022 through various complaints. An official complaint was filed as early as January 2022, highlighting the problem of misinformation by BMC’s public notices regarding tree felling.
The complaint highlighted how no details or description of the tree removal proposals were being provided, only information about the BMC ward in question was provided, and wrong webpaths to the BMC portal were published in civic notices. However, no action was taken, and even today, notices are still issued with the same defunct webpath.
Official Speak
A senior civic official from the BMC’s Garden Cell told mid-day that there was an error likely in the notice issued on Wednesday about the felling of trees in Dadar, leading to a wrong webpath. “There are various ways in which BMC provides transparency, and it is not restricted to public notices alone. Notices are also pasted on trees that will be axed,” the official said.
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