Tree authority gives nod for felling 891 trees in MMR

In May last year, the MSTA had sanctioned the felling of around 1,500 trees for various projects within Mumbai city and suburbs alone. Then in July, it granted permission to fell another 1,181 and transplant another 2,226 trees across MMR for various projects

Mumbai The Maharashtra State Tree Authority (MSTA) has given a go ahead to fell 891 trees in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for various development works, as per the minutes of its last meeting in December 2022, which were accessed by Hindustan Times.

Mumbai, India - September 30, 2018: Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) began work in Aarey Colony’s sector 19, Near by 100 trees chopped in 2 days at Aarey Milk Colony for the Metro III car shed in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, September 30, 2018. (Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

These include 169 trees to be cut for a series of buildings by the Reserve Bank of India at Belapur, 550 trees for two low-cost housing projects by CIDCO in Navi Mumbai, 69 trees for expansion of the Kharghar Valley Golf Course, 1 heritage tree in Mumbai, near Grant Road station, for expansion of Western Railways facilities, five heritage trees for a real estate project near Airoli, and another heritage tree in for a similar project in Thane’s Balkum village.

The total number of trees at risk, however, are much more. In addition to the 891 trees which will be permanently felled, at least another 1,392 trees have been slotted for transplantation. A member of the tree authority, who did not wish to be identified, said, “We have considered all proposals carefully before granting clearances. We have mandated that well over 28,000 trees of indigenous variety be planted by the project proponents as compensatory afforestation to offset the loss of green cover.”

In May last year, the MSTA had sanctioned the felling of around 1,500 trees for various projects within Mumbai city and suburbs alone. Then in July, it granted permission to fell another 1,181 and transplant another 2,226 trees across MMR for various projects. Since its inception in March 2022, the Authority has given a nod to fell upwards of 3,500 trees.

Zoru Bhatena, a city-based environmentalist, pointed out that the Bombay high court has repeatedly said, “The tree authority is not an authority constituted for the destruction of trees. Its primary objective is to ensure plantation, preservation, and protection of the trees, and enhancement of the tree cover. Sadly, it appears that the MSTA is not fulfilling any of these statutory duties.”

The MSTA at its first meeting on January 17 had deferred 12 proposals - seven in Mumbai, three in Nagpur, one each in Talegaon and Aurangabad - on technical grounds.

“The tree authority has received several proposals, which are not in consonance with the amended provisions of the Tree Act, 1975. In order to ensure that each proposal is in accordance with the amended law, the following standard operating procedure [SOP] is proposed,” the minutes of the meeting had said.

The six-point SOP stipulates that all project proponents must provide the location of the proposed tree area on Google Maps for easy identification, and that a tree census be carried out in the affected land parcel to ascertain the number, species, and age of the trees slotted for being felled or transplanted. The applicants are also mandated to estimate the age of every single tree proposed to be cut or transplanted, in consultation with the forest department.