After a civic-appointed contractor’s careless excavation work in Prabhadevi damaged the roots of around 60 trees, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) fined him Rs 50,000. The infraction was found when four important roads—Famous Studio Lane, Veer Santaji Lane, Old Prabhadevi Marg, and Jivba Aatmaram Raul Marg—where continuing road concretisation work is being done as part of the city’s huge infrastructure project—were inspected.
The BMC’s garden department found that the excavation was conducted in an unscientific manner, leaving tree roots exposed and severely weakened. The affected trees, aged between 35 to 40 years, include indigenous species like gulmohar, jambhul, peepal, peltophorum, wad, and bhendi. Officials warn that due to the compromised root structures, these trees are now at risk of collapsing, particularly during the monsoon season.
Along with the penalties, the BMC sent the contractor a letter pointing out the infraction of National Green Tribunal (NGT) regulations, which forbid excavation within a metre of trees in order to protect their roots. The civic organisation issued a warning that more carelessness would result in harsher penalties.
This is the second penalty of this kind in a month. A second contractor was fined Rs 20,000 on March 6 for destroying a 70-year-old tree’s root zone in central Mumbai while expanding a road without first obtaining the required No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the garden department. Two additional trees, a drumstick and a coconut, were also impacted during that incident, according to officials.
Source: The Indian Express
