Mumbai: The Supreme Court has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRCL) for attempting to cut down more trees despite permission to cut down 84 trees to construct a metro carshed in Aarey Colony in Mumbai. Also, a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud allowed felling of 177 trees in view of the project work.
The Supreme Court had in November last year allowed MMRCL to proceed with its application before the Tree Authority to cut down 84 trees. At that time, the Supreme Court had said that 84 trees can be felled only after taking the permission of the tree felling authority.
While the Supreme Court has now allowed the company to cut down 177 trees from the Aarey forest. The apex court said banning the cutting of trees would stall public projects, which is not right. A bench headed by the Chief Justice said that MMRCL should deposit Rs 10 lakh with the Conservator of Forests within two weeks.
The Metro carshed project at Aarey Colony in Goregaon was launched by environmentalists who claimed that it is a forest area and there is indiscriminate felling of trees in the area. Therefore, this project has been mired in controversy.
In 2019, the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Mahavikas Aghadi government had said that the metro car shed would be built at suburban Kanjurmarg and not at Aarey Colony. But in June 2022, the Eknath Shinde-led state government reversed the decision and announced that the carshed would be built in Aarey Colony itself.
