Advertisement

Updated October 23rd, 2019 at 08:52 IST

Mumbai: MMRDA plants over 51,000 trees on degraded forest land

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority on Tuesday has completed the plantation of over 51,000 trees on 46 hectares of degraded forest land

Reported by: Pritesh Kamath
Mumbai
| Image:self
Advertisement

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Tuesday has completed the plantation of over 51,000 trees on 46 hectares of degraded forest land near the Kalyan-Shilphata area, 29 km away from Mumbai. The growth of the trees will be monitored by the experts for a span of three years. The plantation drive had started on August 1.

READ | Aaditya Thackeray: 'I believe Aarey must be declared a forest'

First of its kind initiative

MMRDA commissioner RA Rajeev has said that MMRDA is planting a large number of trees to fight the adverse effects of climate change and has also appealed to the people to help in maintaining the trees. MMRDA will bear the cost of planting and maintaining the tree which comes to around Rs 1,200 per tree, per year. MMRDA has also invited people to adopt a tree and name it.

In a first of its kind initiative, MMRDA which is constructing the Metro corridors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region had signed an MOU with the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) and the Thane forest department to plant 51,151 trees on the degraded forest land.

MMRDA, which had to face the heat of the people as well as several environmental activists group for cutting over 2,000 trees in Aarey colony, has maintained that the plantation activity on the degraded forest land is in addition to the compensatory plantation drive that is to be undertaken for of the loss of green cover due to infrastructural work. 

READ | 'Aarey is not Sena-BJP but human-environment tussle': Aditya Thackeray

Aarey Protest

A protest was carried out over a few weeks by activists over the tree felling in Aarey colony for the Metro rail project in which several activists and environmental groups participated. The protest escalated when activists tried to sabotage the activity of tree felling and as many as 29 activists were arrested for restricting the ongoing tree felling. The protestors filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the High court order, which was heard on October 7. The Apex court passed a stay order prohibiting further tree felling and maintaining the status quo of the Aarey colony. By then, 2141 trees had been severed off out of a total of 2185 trees initially planned to chop off. The next hearing on the matter was scheduled on October 21 which extended the status quo of Aarey colony restricting the further tree cutting in Aarey, however the Supreme Court clarified that there is no stay on the Metro Rail’s construction activity.

READ | Mumbai environmentalists pay tribute to trees cut in Aarey colony

READ | Aarey finds no mention in Shiv Sena's manifesto

Advertisement

Published October 23rd, 2019 at 03:33 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo