Bombay high court allows metro rail to cut 108 mangrove trees for BKC station

Mumbai city news: The Bombay high court directed that the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited to replant and replace the trees.

The Bombay high court on Tuesday permitted the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to clear 108 mangroves to construct a station at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) under the Metro-3 project.

On the previous hearing, Justice Kanade had advised green activist opposing the metro project to be “pragmatic.”

A bench of justices VM Kanade and MS Sonak also directed MMRCL, the project implementing agency, to file an undertaking, stating that it had taken or would take all necessary permissions from the authorities before beginning any construction work at BKC . It also asked the agency to carry out compensatory re-plantation once the metro construction was over.

The directions came after activists had withdrawn their opposition as MMRCL was going to destroy 108 mangroves to build the metro station at BKC.

On the previous hearing, Justice Kanade had advised green activist opposing the metro project to be “pragmatic.”

On Tuesday, the court however, told MMRCL that the agency should have been careful during the planning stage and made efforts to protect as many trees and mangroves as possible.

It further said that it had planned to construct the station at Kurla; as the land was under litigation, the authorities zeroed in on the BKC site.

The MMRCL counsel also submitted that the agency would carry out compens atory re-plantation after construction work and that it would also transplant trees or mangroves that can be saved from complete felling.

It said that MMRCL had tied up with an international agency for the transplantation.Over 5,000 trees are proposed to be cut across south Mumbai to make way for the 33-km- Metro III line.

Another bench of the high court has constituted a committee comprising two serving judges of the Bombay HC to look into citizens’ grievances related to the project over felling of trees and to monitor compensatory re-plantation.

READ

MMRDA wants to build control centre for Metro at Aarey Milk Colony

Development Plan 2034: Aarey Colony a green zone, but Mumbai Metro car shed, zoo to stay