New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the tree authority of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to not permit any tree felling in Mumbai's Aarey colony without its permission.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Aravind Kumar. The bench said the applications can be processed by the tree authority, and after that, the authority can seek orders from the apex court.
The top court passed the order after the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) informed the bench there was no pending proposal to cut off more trees in the area. The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing on March 5, 2025. On December 20, last year, the apex court directed the Maharashtra government to apprise it if there was any proposal to fell more trees in Mumbai's Aarey forest.
In 2023, the top court had permitted some forest-dwelling tribals to move the Bombay High Court with their grievances related to the felling of trees in Mumbai's Aarey forest for the metro rail project. In April 2023, the top court came down heavily on Mumbai Metro for trying to "overreach" its earlier order permitting the felling of only 84 trees in the forest for a car shed project and directed it to pay Rs 10 lakh as a penalty.
The court said it was improper on the part of the MMRCL to move the tree authority for the felling of any trees in excess of 84. However, the apex court permitted it to remove 177 trees from Aarey forest, saying a stay-on tree felling would bring the public project to a standstill which was not desirable.
