AGENCIES / NEW DELHI /MUMBAI
Supreme Court today ordered the Maharashtra government to maintain status quo regarding felling of trees at Mumbai’s Aarey Colony.
The Court has asked Maharashtra Government to not cut any more trees at Aarey Colony, adding it will have to examine entire thing. SC has also asked to include Union Environment ministry a party. SC’s forest bench to hear plea regarding felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey on October 21.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Maharashtra Government assured the bench that henceforth no trees will be cut.
He also told the court that all those arrested for protesting against cutting of trees in Aarey have been released.
A special bench of justices Arun Mishra and Ashok Bhushan started an urgent hearing today the plea filed by a law student on the felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey to set up a Metro car shed. The felling of trees is being opposed by green activists and local residents. The petitioner told the court that Aarey forest was deemed as “unclassified forest” by state govt and felling of trees is illegal. Petitioner had claimed that Aarey forest was a no development zone and not eco-sensitive zone.
The apex court had decided on Sunday to register as PIL a letter addressed to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi by law student Rishav Ranjan seeking a stay on the cutting of trees.
The Bombay High Court had on October 4 refused to declare Aarey Colony a forest and declined to quash the Mumbai municipal corporation’s decision to allow felling of over 2,600 trees in the green zone to set up a metro car shed. The BMC soon began felling trees in the cover of darkness and estimates say over 1,000 trees have already been axed.
The letter states, “As we write this letter to you Mumbai authorities continue to kill the lungs of Mumbai ie Aarey forest by clearing of trees near Mithi river bank and according to news reports 1,500 trees have already been cleared by authorities. “Not only this but our friends are put in jail who were peacefully organising a vigil against acts of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) with Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) at the site.”
The student requested the Supreme Court “to exercise its epistolary jurisdiction to protect Aarey without getting into technicalities as there was no time for preparation of a proper appeal petition and cover the scars of these young activists who are responsible citizens standing for serious environmental concerns”.
It also said that students have moved the apex court as the Bombay High Court rejected the bail plea of 29 activists who had participated in the “peaceful vigil” against the tree-felling and have been detained by Mumbai Police.
The letter has alleged that the student-activists were abused and manhandled by the Mumbai Police which has booked them for offences of ‘assault on a public servant to deter him from discharging his duty’ and ‘unlawful assembly’ under the IPC.
According to the letter, Aarey forest is located adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and has five lakh trees.
The trees were proposed to be cut for Mumbai metro-3 project and specifically for construction of a car shed, it said and added the high court refused to recognise Aarey as a forest or declare it as an ecological sensitive issue because of jurisdictional limits.
The police on Saturday imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Aarey, restricting movement and gathering of groups, and cordoned off the area. Twenty-nine activists were arrested after clashes with the police and were later released on Sunday.
The move has also become a bone of contention between allies Shiv Sena and BJP, with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray saying once in power, they would “teach a lesson to murderers of trees”.