BMC rejects over 50 per cent tree cutting proposals

  Environmental activists have succeeded in saving many trees from being cut in Mumbai, with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) having sanctioned less than 50 per cent of the total tree removal proposals last year.

“Out of the total 330 proposals, only 159 were sanctioned. The total number of trees to be removed last year was 8,775, of which, only 2,115 were removed”, said activist Zoru Bathena who has filed a petition in the Bombay high court (HC) against the depleting green cover in the city.

The 8,775 trees proposed to be axed last year included 3,500 for the metro car shed at Aarey. The reason behind the BMC sanctioning less than 50 per cent of the total tree removal proposals was the continuous objections raised by tree activists and the HC later restraining the BMC tree authority from taking any decision.

Mr Bathena, in his petition, also said that the tree authority did not have any experts and comprised only municipal councilors. The tree removal proposals included the cutting of trees and some transplantation. “We count the transplanted trees as the affected ones as a very small percentage of them survives,” said Bathena.

From January 1, 2019, till date, 705 tree removal proposals have been published.

“Due to unavailability of the tree authority and objections raised by activists at every public hearing, tree removal proposals are comparatively less than last year. If calculated in detail, in 2018, it was 24 trees removed per day, while this year as of today, it is 13 trees per day,” said Mr Bathena.

After the HC slammed the BMC for not appointing experts in its tree authority, the BMC finally published advertisements for appointing experts. The formation of the new tree authority is likely in March.

Mr Bathena said, “BMC has now started including the removal of dead and dangerous trees in its public notices. This will help eliminate the cutting of healthy trees under the garb of being dead or dangerous at the ward level.”