Mumbai: The Mumbai Metro on Monday said it has cut down 2141 trees at the Aarey Milk Colony area but confirmed that it will honour the Supreme Court order and will not chop down any more trees at the site.
In a statement, Mumbai Metro said “as of date 2,141 trees have been felled”.
"The work on the project has already been delayed by over 6 months on account of the legal and other impediments. We still expect to meet the deadline," the metro said.
The metro also tweeted: "We respect the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court dated October 7, 2019. Following is our official statement."
Speaking on the green initiatives it has taken, the metro authorities said in the statement: “MMRCL has already planted 23,846 trees and additionally distributed 25,000 saplings as part of its green initiatives."
Hearing the petitions against the felling down of trees to make way for a metro project in Mumbai Aarey colony, the Supreme Court asked the Maharashtra government not to carry on with axing anymore.
The top court said this after the state government admitted that the required number of trees for the project have already been axed.
The next hearing on the case will take place on Oct 21.
Lawyer of the petitioners, Sanjay Hedge, said, "We thank the Supreme Court for its intervention. Don't think anything more will develop on the matter till 21st of the month."
We respect the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court dated October 7, 2019. Following is our official statement. pic.twitter.com/o8CjSmHAB2
— MumbaiMetro3 (@MumbaiMetro3) October 7, 2019
Last week, activists started gathering at Aarey colony after a video showing a tree being cut went viral, alleging that act illegal.
After the video went viral, Shiv Sena scion Aditya Thackeray, whose party is an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), spoke in favour of the activists and supported their resistance to "illegal" felling of trees by MCGM calling the act shameful.
Environmentalists have been protesting the decision to build metro rail depot at the Aarey Colony which has more than five lakh trees.
The Bombay High Court dismissed the petition against felling of trees saying it cannot intervene in the matter as the case is pending before the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.
The Aarey protests have attracted massive attention in Mumbai with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar coming out in favour of the government.
Top Image: Mongabay-India
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