The opposition NCP and Congress in Maharashtra targeted the Shiv Sena and BJP on Saturday, saying the ruling parties have failed to save trees in Aarey Colony. In a veiled dig at Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, the Nationalist Congress Party asked where were the "fake environment lovers" when the hacking of trees began late Friday night. "The Aarey tree felling is nothing but hitting Mumbaikars by first rendering them helpless. The @ShivSena bedeviled for the last 25 years. Now, it is holding common Mumbaikars to ransom in alliance with BJP," NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik tweeted.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd started cutting trees late Friday night to make way for its car shed, hours after the Bombay High Court dismissed four petitions filed by NGOs and activists challenging the decision to allow felling of trees in the prime green lung of the city. "Where were fake environment lovers who championed the ban on plastic when the tree felling started?" Malik asked on the micro-blogging site, tagging Thackeray and BJP.