MP says city’s green cover must be saved

Days after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) voted in favour of removing more than 2,600 trees at Aarey colony to construct a Metro car shed, party MP Supriya Sule on Sunday opposed the Tree Authority’s decision.

Ms. Sule met protesters at Aarey on Sunday afternoon and said, “The Aarey forest acts as the lungs of Mumbai and provides the city the pure air we breathe. I strongly oppose the cutting down of trees here. We have to save the green patches in Mumbai for our future generations.”

The MP said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should think of alternatives rather than cutting trees in the name of development.

On August 29, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Tree Authority cleared a proposal to cut or transplant 2,646 trees in Aarey colony to make space for a car shed for Metro 3. The NCP’s lone Tree Authority member, Kaptan Malik, voted in favour of cutting the trees along with corporators of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Shiv Sena members opposed the plan, while the Congress boycotted the meeting.

When asked about Ms. Sule meeting the protesters, the NCP’s Mumbai president Nawab Malik reacted cautiously, saying the party does not oppose the Metro project as it will reduce pollution by cutting down traffic. “I cannot comment on what Supriya tai has said. But our position in the Tree Authority was taken based on the report of the expert committee, which said the trees will be replanted, and more trees will be planted as well,” said Mr. Malik, adding that Ms. Sule had gone there to meet the people and understand the issue.

The NCP leader questioned the Shiv Sena’s double standards on tree cutting. “More than one lakh trees were cut while constructing the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Highway. But the Sena did not utter a single word. Its opposition to the Aarey proposal is nothing but a sham and an attempt to fool people,” he said.