Mumbai Metro-3 car shed: Petitioners in case welcome Maharashtra government’s decision but say fight to go on until entire Aarey is declared forest

Petitioners who were distressed by the Bombay high court’s (HC) refusal to stay the felling of trees at Aarey last year have hailed chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray’s decision of not only shifting the Metro car shed to Kanjurmarg, but also declaring Aarey a forest, which was one their demands. The CM said that around 800 acres of Aarey has been declared a forest.

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Environmentalist Zoru Bhathena, who is one of the petitioners in the case, said that though the demand to relocate the car shed has been accepted by the state, their fight will go on until the entire 2,500 acres of Aarey is declared a forest.

Soon after the CM made the announcement over the car shed, Bhathena said, “We are delighted that the government has finally accepted each and every proposal put up by citizens. This is indeed a victory for Mumbaiites.”

Referring to HC’s refusal to stay the felling of 2,200 trees last year for the car shed at Aarey, Bhathena said, “Constitutional courts that are obliged to uphold the protection of environment have sadly, time and again, let Mumbai down. Let us hope Aarey shows the light ahead for our courts too.”

Bhathena added that both his petitions – seeking the shifting of the car shed to Kanjurmarg and restraining the filling up of the flood plains at Aarey – had succeeded in light of the announcement by the CM.

Environmentalist Kunal Birwadkar, who had filed an intervention application with regards to trees being transplanted for the Metro project, said that the hue and cry about the loss of large funds by the shifting of the car shed was baseless.

“A 2004 order of the Supreme Court has categorically stated that ‘protection of environment would have precedence over the economic interest,’ when a decision has to be taken between development and environment,” said Birwadkar, citing the Apex court order.

However advocate Zaman Ali, who along with senior advocate Gayatri Singh appeared in the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Vanashakti said that though the announcement by the CM was a victory for those concerned with safeguarding the environment, the PIL would still remain pending in the HC as the larger issue of declaring the entire 2,500 acres of Aarey as forest was pending.

In all four petitions had been filed in HC on the car shed issue, which sought a stay on the felling of trees as well as declaring the entire area a forest. On October 4, 2019, the HC bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Bharati Dangre had dismissed all the petitions.