Mumbai’s Tree Authority is set to examine applications seeking permission to remove more than 200 trees for housing redevelopment, a proposed hospital and coastal road construction. The proposals, reported by the news agency, underline the challenge of accommodating the city’s infrastructure needs while protecting its green cover.
The applications will be considered at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Tree Authority meeting on October 21. The committee will assess them under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. Each application includes a compensatory plantation proposal.
Housing redevelopment accounts for several major requests. A project near New Prabhadevi Road and Elphinstone Road seeks permission to remove 76 trees, while a Sewri scheme has applied to fell 41. Another redevelopment proposal in Worli also seeks the removal of 76 trees, with 23 trees proposed for replantation. The project involves residential buildings, podiums, ramps, drainage and associated road infrastructure.
A hospital project in Kandivali West has requested permission to cut 43 trees and plant 54 in compensation. An inspection reportedly recorded 411 trees on the site, including 97 affected by the proposed development and 314 earmarked for retention.
Another application concerns a combined redevelopment scheme covering housing societies in Andheri East and Jogeshwari East. It seeks approval to remove 22 trees and replant eight. Although 148 trees were identified during the inspection, some were covered by previous permissions. Of 106 trees considered relevant to the revised plan, 99 are proposed to be affected.
Infrastructure work also features on the agenda. The BMC’s bridges department has sought permission to remove three trees near Mindspace Garden on MDP Road in Goregaon West and plant 37 replacements. The trees fall within the alignment of a temporary access bridge required for the Mumbai Coastal Road Project North interchange. The three trees proposed for removal have been recorded as dead.
The Tree Authority may approve, modify or reject each application. Inclusion on the meeting agenda does not constitute clearance.
The decisions will test how Mumbai balances redevelopment, healthcare and transport infrastructure with the preservation of mature trees and limited urban green spaces.
Source: Economic Times
