Supreme Court allows Mumbai Metro to ask BMC to fell 84 trees in Aarey for metro depot

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to pursue its February 2019 application seeking permission to fell 84 trees to construct the Aarey Metro depot. (In Re: Felling of Trees at Aarey Forest).A Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha stated that the trees were required to be cut for a shunting site/ramp, without which the overall metro project would have no consequence. " ...when such a large outlay of public funds is involved this Court cannot be oblivious to the dislocation of public fund if a project like this is disregarded. Environmental concerns are important as all development must be sustainable."The Court made it clear that the tree authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be at liberty to take an independent decision and impose conditions as deemed fit. The final hearing of the case will now take place in February 2023. .The Supreme Court was hearing a suo motu plea against construction of a metro car shed under the Mumbai Metro Rail project, at the Aarey area, which is one of Mumbai's major green lungs. Today, the Bench only dealt with MMRCL's application that it wanted disposed of before final hearing of the case.On October 7, 2019, the Court had ordered the State of Maharashtra not to cut any further trees at Aarey, and to maintain the status quo.The matter had reached the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court had dismissed pleas challenging the removal of trees in Aarey, and thereafter refused to entertain an urgent request to stay the tree-removal.This had prompted a student delegation to write a letter to then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to intervene in the matter. The top court had also clarified later that there was no stay on the construction of the contentious metro car shed project..The matter was mentioned in July before a Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who had cited urgency contending that more trees in the area could be cut over the weekend to make space for the construction.With the recent fall of the Thackeray government, one of the first decisions taken by the new Eknath Shinde-led government, which took charge on June 30, was to recommence the metro work at Aarey.The top court had in August ordered that status quo would have to be maintained until further orders. The Bench was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the petitioners had shown wrong photographs of another area, to allege felling being done despite court orders against the same.The status quo was partially modified by today's order to allow the felling of 84 trees, pending the tree authority's approval..In today's hearing, SG Mehta reiterated the benefits of a completed Metro project in the city."...close to 13.85 lakh passengers would benefit from the metro everyday. Now ₹22,000 crores have already been spent at Aarey Milk Colony and now Kanjurmarg cannot be called as an available alternate site and 95 percent of the project is over. Only shunting has to take place, the alternative site is now only more academic."Senior Advocates CU Singh and Anitha Shenoy pointed out the sensitive ecology in the area as well as the viability of the alternate site at Kanjurmarg. "The [government-appointed] committee found ₹1,850 crores will be saved if it is merged with Kanjurmarg and that it serves as a better place for insertion of trains to come inside or leave. No residential places also nearby," Singh said. Shenoy submitted, "There are 40 different species of trees in the area. Look at the tree cover around this place. The Central Pollution Control Board has its own guidelines of which category of industry causes pollution, and a train or car shed is a red category industry which causes most pollution and which will be there in this ecologically sensitive area...It is an endowment for us and we should not decimate it to easily."Advocate Rukmini Bobde, appearing for the Maharashtra government, said that the Bombay High Court had allowed construction at Aarey, and even the National Green Tribunal had dismissed applications seeking its declaration as a forest. The top court's order noted that with the State's notification from March this year restoring the metro car depot at Aarey, it would not be possible to stay the same in the interim..[Follow our coverage of today's hearing].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.