Mumbai: Aarey contractor gets notice for razing trees

The plot on which trees had been transplanted around seven years ago

Following a mid-day report highlighting how the tree transplantation site in Aarey Milk Colony was flattened to allow for the drying of cattle dung, the Aarey CEO's office has issued a notice to the contractor. An official from the Aarey CEO's office said, "We have sent a notice to the contractor who levelled the area where the trees had been transplanted."

The notice issued to the contractor clearly states that the contractor has to collect the cattle dung and dump it in the space available between the cattle shed and the area designated for the same. The notice also cites the mid-day report regarding the dumping on the land parcel near unit 14 where the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had transplanted trees, allegedly causing damage to them.

The entire area in Aarey Milk Colony has been declared an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India, as per the notification dated December 5, 2016. It is prohibited to carry out any constructions/works in this area without the approval of the ECZ monitoring committee.

The notice by the Aarey CEO's office also states that if any prohibited works are carried out, the agreement of the contractor will be cancelled and an offence will be registered under relevant sections of the Environment Protection Act. Further, the contractor has been asked to submit a written explanation to the Aarey CEO's office within three days.

On January 30, mid-day carried a story, ‘JCBs flatten Aarey plot once home to transplanted trees', which highlighted how a portion of a transplantation site at Aarey had been cleared and levelled. In 2016-2017, some trees were transplanted on this plot. Recently, when mid-day visited the spot, it was found that a major portion of the plot had been levelled to create space for drying cattle dung.

mid-day visited the site adjacent to the Bombay Veterinary College campus in the colony on Monday. On one portion of the land, around 12-14 transplanted trees were still standing. On a larger section of the same plot, the transplanted trees were not in place and the land had been flattened. According to locals, the land was levelled by a contractor appointed by the Aarey CEO's office, supposedly for collecting cattle dung.

The Aarey CEO's office has taken serious note of the mid-day article. On Thursday, when this reporter visited the site, he found that cattle dung that was dumped on the plot for drying had been removed.

2016-17
Year trees were transplanted on plot