22 June,2021 06:57 AM IST | Mumbai | The Editorial
This picture has been used for representational purpose
A project being implemented by CIDCO will need diversion of forest land for the construction of the Neral-Uran Railway Phase I covering Thane and Raigad districts of Maharashtra. Forest land in Thane and Alibaug will need to be cleared to make way for the project. CIDCO has claimed that the project will help connectivity between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. It also claimed that it will give a boost to projects being planned and developed in various nodes of Navi Mumbai.
Green activists have already expressed alarm and distress at the land being cleared for various forest projects saying that every effort should be made for realignment or, to save the environment from deforestation for projects.
One has to ensure that we find a balance. If these projects are so vital to improve connectivity, can they be done with absolute minimal damage to trees, perhaps? Is there a way we can restore some green cover or increase trees somewhere else when these projects are being done? Transplantation of trees wherever it is being done must work. Some experts claim that it is better if we plant 10 trees for every tree that is cut, rather than taking that tree and trying to replant it elsewhere. We need to look into that logic too.
Those that drive these projects, the government and mammoth corporations, must display intent and action in saving the environment rather than mouthing lip service. This saving should be at inception stage itself, with government permissions incumbent on a happy and healthy balance between development and environment. That is one way to build confidence in the general public. This balance has gone askew in our city, and we know the price we have paid for infra projects and buildings eating into our open spaces. Project honchos, profit lines must align with clean, green intentions.
