Bombay HC to hear case on aarey metro shed everyday from September 17

Bhathena has challenged the Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tree authority’s decision to fell 2,646 trees on August 29 – to cut 2,185 and to transplant 461 trees —to make way for the Metro car shed.

The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday said a petition challenging the felling of 2,646 trees, to make way for a Metro car shed at Aarey Colony, Goregaon, will be heard on a daily basis from September 17.

The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday said a petition challenging the felling of 2,646 trees, to make way for a Metro car shed at Aarey Colony, Goregaon, will be heard on a daily basis from September 17.(HT photo)

A division bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Bharati Dangre passed on to the counsels, appearing for various parties to the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist Zoru Bhathena, material on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity TEEB-India Initiative. The initiative, taken by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, was to highlight the economic consequences of the loss of biological diversity and the associated decline in ecosystem services. It focussed on forests, inland wetlands and coastal and marine ecosystems.

The bench urged the lawyers to try to find out more material on the subject if they can. “It will help us lay down better jurisprudence,” the bench said.

Bhathena has challenged the Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tree authority’s decision to fell 2,646 trees on August 29 – to cut 2,185 and to transplant 461 trees —to make way for the Metro car shed.

The 44-year-old activist contended that the tree authority did not follow the procedure laid down by the HC earlier this year. His PIL said the tree authority, constituted under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1971, had on June 30, called for suggestions and objections from the public on the proposal by the MMRC for removal of 2,702 trees — cutting 2,238 trees and transplanting 464 trees.

Accordingly, he submitted his objection to the proposal, raising 14 points. On July 8, the tree officer conducted a public hearing, where approximately 500 citizens once again raised their objections, but none of them were taken into consideration by the tree authority, he said.

On August 29, the tree authority cleared the proposal, allowing removal of 2,646 trees. Bhathena has also taken strong objection to the fact that the tree authority did not take dissenting views of its independent expert members into consideration and also its resolution did not contain reasons for overruling his objections.