The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) on Thursday informed the Bombay high court that more trees needed to be cut down at Aarey due to the delay by the litigation.
The MMRCL stated that because of the litigation delays, more trees may have to be cut down for the construction of the car depot because many plants and saplings have grown into trees during the pendency of the matter.
Appearing for MMRCL, Senior Advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, informed the Court that when the application was filed, it was for the felling of 84 trees, but the land saw the growth of more trees over time.
“At the time, there were 84 trees in a specific area. So our request was for 84 trees. The goal was to clear the land so that we could build the metro car shed. Because of the petitioner, this case remained in court for four years. Four monsoon seasons have passed during this time. So, at the time, saplings did not fit the definition of trees, but they grew naturally and became trees. The Supreme Court order allowed us to shave the land cleanly. We have not grown even an inch, and the intention was to allow us to work. On the contrary, the petitioner’s obstruction amounts to an obstruction of the Supreme Court order in its true form,” the lawyer explained.
The remarks were made while hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Zoru Bhathena challenging a notice issued by tree authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for removing 177 trees at Aarey.
The application stated that the notice was based on a request made by MMRCL that was submitted following a Supreme Court decision in November 2022 permitting the corporation to proceed with its request to cut down 84 trees for the project.
Advocate Zaman Ali, appearing for Bhathena, asked for a postponement in order to get more information on the additional shrubs and trees.
“These are not shrubs but trees of 25 feet height. I take strong objection to this statement. This was not informed to the Supreme Court when the hearing took place. It should have been clarified”, advocate Ali stated.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne granted time to Ali and scheduled the matter for further hearing in a week.
Bhathena has challenged the Tree Authority’s notice, claiming it violates a Supreme Court order from November 2022 that allowed only 84 trees to be felled.
Zoru Bhathena claimed that he filed the current PIL because the authority refused to withdraw its notice.
