BMC decides the fate of 1,300 trees in 10 minutes of online meeting

Wadala to Kasarvadavali line 6 is one of the Metro projects requiring tree cutting

The Tree Authority (TA) on Tuesday decided the fate of over 1,300 trees in the city within 10 minutes during an online meeting, despite complaints from members about poor network and technical glitches.

BJP and Congress corporators slammed the civic administration and the ruling party for not taking their views into consideration and demanded a physical meeting. Meanwhile, in a first, proposals for the cutting/transplantation of more than 200 trees have been sent to the State Tree Authority under the new amendment to the Tree Act to protect heritage trees.

During the meet, 22 proposals to cut 770 trees and transplant 573 trees for metro lines, railway projects, and private constructions, were tabled before the TA. While 303 trees are to be cut and 219 to be transplanted for Metro lines 4, 6, and 2B, 123 are to be cut and 220 are to be transplanted for railway lines. "The network was poor. I couldn't hear anything properly. We demanded a site visit but no one was listening and before our voices could reach, the meeting was called off," said Alka Kerkar, BJP corporator and a member of the TA.

Jagdish Kutti, Congress corporator said, "Online meets are a mess. The meeting started at 1.05 pm and ended within 10 minutes even before the joining of many members. We strongly objected but the chairman (municipal commissioner) left the meeting in a moment." According to an official from the Gardens and Tree Department, "Of the 22 proposals, 10 were approved. The TA cleared the cutting of 485 trees and transplantation of 179 trees. Three proposals will be sent to the state government." The three proposals include metro and railway projects.

Tree Act amended

The Maharashtra government amended the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act of 1975, to introduce provisions for the protection of ‘heritage trees' older than 50 years. Henceforth, the number of trees planted will be equal to the age of chopped heritage trees, and cutting of more than 200 trees aged over five years will require permission from the state-level authority.

770
No. of tree cuttings proposed

573
No. of tree transplantations proposed