A public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) permissions to fell and transplant 3212 trees for the Thane Integral Ring Metro project, alleging that the approvals were granted without a legally constituted "Tree Authority".

The petition, filed by environmental activist and Yeoor Environmental Society founder-president Rohit Manohar Joshi, challenges Resolution No. 1 approved by the municipal commissioner on June 17, 2026, and the subsequent permission issued on August 24 under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. The approval allows 519 trees to be felled and 2693 to be transplanted along the Raila Devi Lake–Balkum corridor.