This may have its own ramifications in Mumbai, where trees are sought to be felled for infrastructure projects like the Metro railway or for construction
In what may ensure ease of doing business through faster clearances, but raise red flags over its impact on ecology, the state legislature has approved a bill which eases the grant of permissions for felling trees. This may have its own ramifications in Mumbai, where trees are sought to be felled for infrastructure projects like the Metro railway or for construction. The bill also does away with the need for personal inspection of the trees by the tree officer if the applicant submits images and details of the trees to be cut by use of the IT-enabled system developed by the municipal body.
The Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Act, 2016, empowers the Municipal Commissioner or the Chief Executive Officer of the tree authority to grant permissions bypassing the authority in cases where the number of trees to be cut are less than 25. According to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Act, 1975, a tree authority has to be constituted by every local authority like municipal corporation or council for its jurisdiction. The bill, which was approved on Friday, stipulates that the meetings of the authority will be held every fortnight and 21 days shall not intervene between two consecutive meetings, and the time-limit when the permission applied shall be deemed to have been granted has been reduced to 45 days from 60.
The applicants who have been granted the permissions to fell trees shall plant twice the number of trees. Mumbai, which is witnessing a slew of capacity addition projects, will see a number of trees being cut to ensure right of way and for operational needs.
For instance, at least 2593 of the 5206 trees in the island city on the route of the proposed Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro railway will have to be cut. The Tree Authority Committee of the BMC on Thursday had approved the proposal to allow the MMRDA to cut 1148 trees and transplant 1485 trees, but not before the committee members personally visit the site and are assured about the proper transplantation and compensatory plantations.
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