Tag: aarey protests

SC Prohibits Mumbai Metro Corporation From Cutting Any Trees in Aarey Colony

A three-judge bench headed by Justice U U Lalit said it would hear the matter further on August 30.

Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 24, directed the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to strictly abide by its undertaking that no trees would be cut in Mumbai’s Aarey colony and warned that any violation will result in strict action.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit said it would hear the matter on August 30 after counsel for the Maharashtra government sought time to collate documents.

“The counsel for MMRCL submits that her clients have already filed an affidavit that no trees have been or would be cut in any manner. The said undertaking by the MMRCL director has already been taken on record and MMRCL shall be strictly bound by the same,” the bench also comprising Justices S.R. Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said.

Also Read: Maharashtra Govt Lifts Stay Order on Metro Car Shed Construction in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony

Senior advocate Anitha Shenoy, appearing for the petitioner, alleged that clearing and levelling work is going on despite the apex court’s order.

The MMRCL had earlier told the Supreme Court that no trees have been cut in Mumbai’s Aarey colony after October 2019.

The apex court in 2019 had taken suo motu cognisance of a letter petition addressed to the then Chief Justice of India by a law student seeking a stay on the felling of trees in the Aarey colony.

The top court had restrained the authorities from cutting any more trees in the Aarey colony after the solicitor general had submitted on behalf of the state of Maharashtra that no further trees will be cut.

The felling of trees in the colony has been opposed by green activists and residents.

The Bombay high court in October, 2019 refused to declare Aarey Colony a forest and declined to quash the Mumbai municipal corporation’s decision to allow the cutting of over 2,600 trees in the green zone to set up a metro car shed.

(PTI)

Protests in Aarey: Four Detained Protesters Released After 10 Hours

The area is witnessing heavy police presence and restrictions on movement of people and vehicles, with only residents of the vicinity being allowed to enter after checking of IDs like Aadhaar Cards etc.

Mumbai: Four persons who were detained for protesting against the metro rail car shed construction in Mumbai’s Aarey forest area on Monday were released after 10 hours, a police official said.

He said protesters Tabrez Sayyed and Jayesh Bhise were detained first after notices under Section 149 (action to prevent cognizable offence) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were issued to them and then two others, identified as Laxman Jadhav and Rohit, were detained, he said.

Amid a crowd of supporters who had gathered at Vanrai police station in the evening, the four were released after 10 hours of detention, the official informed.

Also Read: Maharashtra Govt Lifts Stay Order on Metro Car Shed Construction in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony

The area is witnessing heavy police presence and restrictions on movement of people and vehicles, with only residents of the vicinity being allowed to enter after checking of IDs like Aadhaar Cards etc, he added.

Videos of trees being trimmed in the vicinity of the car shed site went viral on social media during the day, and civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking too announced that some of its buses would be avoiding the route due to this.

The previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Uddhav Thackeray had stopped metro car shed work at the site citing environment concerns and had asked authorities to shift the facility to a plot in Kanjurmarg in the eastern suburbs.

However, one of the first decisions taken by the new Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation, which took charge on June 30, was to recommence work at Aarey, one of Mumbai’s major green lungs.

(PTI)

Watch | Save Aarey Campaign: Petitioners and Activists Answer Queries

The Wire speaks to the petitioners and activists of the Save Aarey movement about the Mumbai high court’s stay order and the arrests that happened after Section 144 was imposed in the area.

The Wire speaks to the petitioners and activists of the Save Aarey movement about the Mumbai high court’s stay order and the arrests that happened after Section 144 was imposed in the area. They also spoke about the MMRCL ‘s decision to chose Aarey forest for the car shed construction and what the plan of action will be if further felling of trees takes place.

Also read: Ten Things to Know About Aarey and the Protests Surrounding it

Note: These interviews were taken on October 10 and 12.

Aarey Protesters Allege Police Assaulted, Abused Them

“The state has failed to distinguish between rioters and peaceful protesters,” one of the 29 arrested protesters said..

Mumbai: The 29 people who were arrested at Aarey colony on October 4 for protesting against the cutting of over 2,500 trees have accused the police of assault and misbehaviour. All 29 had gathered at the Mumbai Press Club, where they individually narrated their experiences of the night at Aarey.

Pramila Bhoir, an Aarey resident, was one of the first ones to have reached the spot on October 4. “I live in Aarey and have been actively involved in the agitation against the Aarey destruction. When we found out that the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRCL) officials had reached Aarey, I had gone there to see if there was a way to stop this. The destruction was not just of the trees that were fell but also of those several wild animals, innumerable birds and the Adivasi lives that are directly connected to the trees. This metro project will kill them all,” Bhoir said.

She alleged that the police roughed her up, shoved her to the ground and detained her even when she was sitting at one corner singing protest songs. “They had rounded us up from all sides and arrested us unprovoked. Male police were deployed to handle women protesters, who inappropriately touched and pushed women into the police van,” she said.

Also read: Ten Things to Know About Aarey and the Protests Surrounding it

Among those arrested, some were local residents, some students, a few professionals working at private firms, some were teachers and a few land right activists. Many of them were coming in contact with the police for the first time and claimed the experience has left them completely shaken.

“The state has failed to distinguish between rioters and peaceful protesters. We had assembled at Aarey to peacefully register our protest against the environment destruction that was taking place in the city. But we were all treated like hardened criminals, shoved, pushed and beaten up,” said Kapildeep Agarwal, a law student from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Agarwal, one of the arrested persons, has been researching on the environment laws in Aarey.

Among those arrested, five were women. Each of them had stories of assault and abuses inflicted on them by both male and female police. Shruti Nair, a city-based entrepreneur who was at the protest site, said, “I was manhandled by a senior police officer at the police station, which gave me a bruise on my cheek. There were many assaults by deputy commissioner of police (Zone X11) D.S. Swami at Aarey.”

The protesters have demanded an independent inquiry to be conducted against the police.

People who were arrested for protesting tree-felling at Aarey. Photo: Sukanya Shantha

There were around 150 protesters who were detained but only 29 were identified and arrested. “How did the police think only 29 of us should be booked and leave the rest. The police had their intent clear. They wanted to target students and others who have been actively participating in protests and challenging the state,” said a protester.

All 29 were booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 353 for allegedly assaulting and obstructing public servants from discharging their duty.

On October 4, the Bombay high court had rejected two petitions pertaining to Aarey trees and refused to declare Aarey as a forest area. It also declined to quash a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decision allowing the felling of over 2,600 trees in the suburban green zone for a metro car shed. MMRCL has been demanding this land in the suburban green zone for a metro car shed. Protesters have been demanding that the metro car shed be built away from the forest region, since this is perhaps the last standing green zone in the city.

Within hours, the MMRCL, amid heavy police deployment, reached Aarey colony and began felling trees. The police had invoked Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code which prevents the assembly of more than four persons at a spot.

Also read: The Dissenting, Questioning Citizen is Now the Enemy of the State

The news of mass tree felling went viral on social media and environment lovers from across Mumbai and outside had gathered at Aarey to oppose the state’s decision. Shashi Sonawane, an activist from Palghar, had travelled to be there at the tree felling site. “We have been actively protesting the state’s decision to acquire land for bullet train in Palghar. Everywhere the state has been snatching lands and destroying the environment. Look at the irony here. The state claims to be doing its duty here of cutting trees and we were allegedly obstructing them by asking them to not cut the forest,” Sonawane said.

All 29 were released after spending a day in the jail.

On October 6, a group of law students wrote to Chief Justice of India Rajan Gogoi seeking his immediate intervention. The students said they were forced to approach the Supreme Court because the Bombay high court rejected an application moved by environmentalists seeking a stay on the cutting of trees until the matter is head before the Supreme Court.

A special bench was constituted and the Supreme Court has ordered that no more trees be cut in Mumbai’s Aarey forest until October 21, when it will hear a plea against the government’s decision to clear the area for a metro car shed. Rishav Ranjan, one of the law students who wrote the letter to the CJI, was present at the press conference. He said, “We will be taking up all the missing points from the earlier petitions and build our case before the apex court.”

By the time the Supreme Court had intervened in the matter, the MMRCL had cut most trees. Amrita Bhattacharjee, one of the petitioners and activists who has been at the forefront of this protest for the last four years said, “While a lot has been destroyed, the Supreme Court’s intervention still is crucial at this point. One, this area can still be preserved. Second, our other pending petitions before the Supreme Court which haven’t come for a hearing for a long time will be looked into with priority. Aarey is no more a local agitation. It has taken shape of a national movement now and we are only hoping that the Supreme Court looks into all issues closely.”

#RightSideUp: India’s Merry Mood, Aarey Protests, ‘Reactionary Right vs Vikas Right’

A weekly round-up of voices from the right.

New Delhi: Kashmir’s silence is now deafening for those who choose to hear it, but the rest of the country has been dancing and eating its way into the 2019 festival season. As jubilant garbas, raucous card parties and effigies of Ravan were being burnt, and Flipkart buckled ever so slightly under a wave of orders as big e-commerce initiated sale season, more news filtered out of Kashmir – none of it particularly matching India’s merry mood.

In fact, the realm of right-leaning media largely appears to be on holiday too.

But Indian newsrooms did make time to go into a frenzy over Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan even as the silence on Kashmir lingered – other than Union home minister Amit Shah talking about how Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood would be restored one day, while also claiming that “not a single bullet has been fired and not a single person has died” after the reading down of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir” though it has been documented otherwise.

Also read: #RightSideUp: ‘Howdy, Modi’ Hangover, Greta Thunberg, ‘a Liberal Puppet’?

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece Organiser had not much of note to say this week, caught up in their own celebrations of the organisation 94th anniversary. Thus, the magazine’s latest edition once again runs down the “illiberal left”.

OpIndia covered the foundation day at the Sangh headquarters in Nagpur. There, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed the RSS cadres, and the OpIndia staff broke down his speech. Bhagwat spoke of democracy not being a foreign import but the result of practices “ingrained in India’s national psyche as a result of centuries of tradition and collective experiences and enlightenment gained during the post-independence period”.

Talking about the Narendra Modi government’s decision to scrap Article 370, Bhagwat said that the action shows that this government “has the courage to fulfil the people’s expectations and respect for the sentiments of the public that voted them to power”.

“He also added that the efforts will see fruition only when the Kashmiri Pandits, who had been driven away from their homes, are rehabilitated and are assured of a safe life back in the Valley.”

Bhagwat also spoke of how “Bharat’s thought process, the collective psyche of the nation, is evolving”, how “communal violence is never one-sided, there are always two sides” and how lynching is “not a Hindu concept, it has roots in other religions”.

The article ends with what he had to say to the media:

“Bhagwat stated that the media has a major role to play in awakening the society and creating a conducive social atmosphere. He asserted that the media must come out of the attitude of churning out ‘spicey (sic) and sensational’ content and take the responsibility of creating a constructive and efficient society.”

Rightlog.in/The Frustrated Indian‘s website was down for the better part of Tuesday, apparently because of a possible hack attack.

The Frustrated Indian‘s website was down for a better part of the day on Dussehra.

Also read: #RightSideUp: Modi 2.0 Report Card, Netflix in the Red

Aarey’s never-ending woes

Swarajya magazine came out against Bollywood supposedly trying to co-opt the Aarey protests and why actor should not be allowed to ‘hijack the welfare of the common Mumbaiker (Mumbaikar)’.

In an article, Gampa Saidatta, a student of TISS Mumbai, slams film celebrities for joining in on the protests against the felling of trees in the Aarey colony.

“The growing opposition to the Metro Line 3 car shed at Aarey Colony – in a bid to save 2,200 trees – is jeopardising the efforts to give a new lifeline to Mumbai,” he writes.

Saidatta calls them hypocritical:

“Today, movie celebrities and the elite of Mumbai are openly opposing this Mumbai metro shed at the southern border of Aarey but they had never opposed the creation of the Film City in 490 acres of land deep inside Aarey Colony bordering the ecologically vital Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Everyone has the right to express his/her opinion. But does that include the right to be a hypocrite and stall a critical public transport project?

Many film celebrities are strongly opposing the metro shed at Aarey Colony and galvanising public opinion in support of their ‘green cause’. What they never talk about are the precious lives lost due to unavailability of public transport in Mumbai.”

Also read: #RightSideUp: ‘Howdy, Modi’ Wins Hearts; ‘Vicious Fangs’ Exposed at Jadavpur

‘Reactionary Right vs Vikas Right’

K. Bhattacharjee, in an article in OpIndia, attempts to break down the difference between what he dubs the ‘reactionary right’ and the ‘vikas right’.

“It’s not really a secret that there are multiple shades of ‘rightwing’ which, in reality, is much more aptly described as Non-Left. There is the ‘Cultural Right’, the ‘Liberal Right’, the ‘Economic Right’, the ‘Core Right’ and so and so. Broadly speaking, the Cultural Right and Core Right can be clubbed under one category as there is great overlap between the two while the other two can be clubbed together. For purposes of simplicity, we shall call the former ‘Mainstream Right’ and the other ‘Vikas Right’.

Then, there’s the ‘Reactionary Right’ which shares a lot in common with the ‘Mainstream Right’ but has a radical approach to politics and culture itself. It rejects the fundamental basis of modernity itself and lays the emphasis on traditional values and customs.”

According to him, the three main divisions are:

The Mainstream Right
The Vikas Right
The Reactionary Right

What afflicts the rightwing as a whole today, he says, is the “confrontation between the Reactionary Right and the Vikas Right”.

“The Vikas Right does harbour great sympathy and wishes to live according to western values such as liberalism and secularism. Their main grouse with the Left is that they do not adhere to ‘True Liberalism’ and ‘True Secularism’. They are not against liberalism or secularism per se. The Reactionary Right, on the other hand, completely rejects liberalism and secularism. They consider these to be deeply Christian values that should have no place in India.

The same goes for ideologies such as Feminism. While the Vikas Right voices its support for ‘True Feminism’, the Reactionary Right rejects it completely. Feminism, in all its forms, is considered to be a malaise to society. The same goes for individual liberty. While the Vikas Right believes in the rights and liberty of the individual, the Reactionary Right emphasises on duty and believes that individual liberty cannot be the basis of a functional society.”

He points to recent Twitter battles to highlight the rift. He also writes of how the narrative has continued to shift in favour of the ‘reactionary right’.

“The ‘rightwing’ of today is much much further to the right than it was a couple of years ago…Going forward, one would hope that there will be a synthesis of sorts between the two camps.”

Ten Things to Know About Aarey and the Protests Surrounding it

What makes Aarey environmentally and politically significant?

A specially constituted vacation bench of the Supreme Court on Monday ordered a stay on felling trees located in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony until October 21, when it will hear a plea against the government’s decision to cut vegetation in the area to make way for the city’s metro project. The apex court also asked for the release of activists held for protesting against the felling since Friday evening.

Although this is not the first time that a construction project embarked upon with a clear view of urbanisation has met with environmentalists’ protests, the situation of Aarey is unique and its singularity is perhaps what has drawn several to the protest sites.

Here are the ten most crucial things worth knowing about the green strip and why its being taken down.

Aarey Colony on Google Maps.

1) As is well known by now, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited aims to construct a car parking shed at the place where the green cover of Aarey Colony now stands. This is a part of the MMRCL’s ongoing Mumbai Metro 3 project.

As part of the project, the 33.5-kilometre Aqua line or the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ line is being built. This is going to be the first underground railway line in Mumbai, which depends heavily on its overground local train system. The Aqua line promises to reduce crowds in the Western Line of the Mumbai city railway which covers the busiest office areas in the city.

2) However, Aarey is a costly collateral in this project. It has often been referred to as the “green lung of the city” in reference to the present controversy, but its significance runs deeper.

The Wire‘s Sukanya Shantha wrote in one of her many articles before the tree felling actually started that Aarey is home to tribals who have been living there for generations, in slums and run cowsheds which supply milk to a locally situated government run dairy. A builder had managed to get permission to construct a hotel and a few towers, but it is largely untouched by construction and is a popular picnic spot.

Also read: It’s Aarey vs Metro Rail as Mumbai Continues to Lose Its Green Cover

3) As far as untouched land in a city as heavily urbanised as Mumbai goes, Aarey comes pretty close. Vanashakti, one of the NGOs that have been resolutely fighting against the felling of trees for the car shed, has argued that the region should actually be called a “forest”.

Had it been labelled as such, then neither the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and nor the MMRCL would have been able to touch it for construction.

The ‘Save Aarey’ page of the ‘Let Mumbai Breathe’ campaign.

4) In spite of activists’ clear reservations with the construction and the fact that protests have seen large numbers of citizens turn up at Mumbai’s northern suburbs, the felling project has seen nearly all branches of the Mumbai administration and judiciary come together seamlessly.

The MMRCL, BMC and Maharashtra government’s vision for this project was complimented by the Bombay high court, which on Friday, refused to declare the Aarey Colony a forest area and declined to quash the BMC’s green light to fell the trees in the region.

5) According to reports, however, the court’s Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog had orally observed that he hoped authorities will not start cutting the trees before the petitioners moved the Supreme Court. This was clearly not followed by the MMRCL which began cutting trees on the evening of October 4 itself.

6) It is not clear exactly how many trees have yet been felled by the MMRCL. The required number for which the BMC has given permission is 2,646. However, activists say that the number of trees felled range between 500 and 1,000. There is confusion over whether the MMRCL has been felling only trees that have been numbered, with many activists alleging that unnumbered trees have been cut down too. MMRCL is operating under a promise to replace a portion of the felled trees. This, it will not be able to do if it cuts down unmarked trees as well.

Also read: Mumbai’s Aarey Area Is Government Land, Not Forest: Devendra Fadnavis

7) The allegedly pliant role played by the BMC’s tree authority in granting permission to fell more than 2,000 trees was also brought to question in this regard. Activist Zoru Bathena had filed a PIL in the Bombay high court against the authority’s permission to cut the trees. Bathena’s counsel Janak Dwarkadas, on Monday, argued that the tree authority’s decision suffers from “non-application of mind” and was taken in “haste” without following provisions laid down under the Trees Act in view of the election.

Dwarkadas said that the authority, in its over 900-page proposal granting permission to MMRCL, did not even record the objections raised by the petitioner and over one lakh common citizens during the two public hearings conducted by the authority in October last year and in July this year.

In the previously cited report, Shantha also quotes activists as alleging that once permission to fell trees are given, the same information must be put up on the BMC’s website and be made open to people’s responses.

8) Friday’s initial surprise at the alacrity with which MMRCL moved to cut the trees, gave way to the widespread outrage of Saturday when protesters gathered from all around Mumbai. As many as 29 were arrested. A local magistrate court sent all 29 activists to judicial custody for five days, rejecting their bail plea. Section 144 was clamped in the area.

9) The lack of public empathy towards the BMC and MMRCL’s ’cause’ could well become a colossal sore point in this election season. Maharashtra is going into assembly elections later in October. Shiv Sena, which has control of the BMC, has therefore conveniently aligned itself with the protesters and called the Supreme Court stay a ‘victory’. The party, in its mouthpiece Saamna, tore into its alliance partner, BJP over what it called “the murder of trees”.

Aaditya Thackeray, the first person from the state’s most politically powerful family, has also been tweeting often on the issue.


10) The case will be heard on October 21, after the Dussehra holidays are over.

Aarey Tree Felling: Protests Continue, Activists to Approach CJI

Prakash Ambedkar was taken into preventive custody on Sunday.

New Delhi: As the protests over felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey colony continue, a group of environmental activists have decided to approach Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to intervene.

According to News18, a delegation of students will visit CJI Gogoi’s residence in Delhi on Sunday and request him to exercise “special jurisdiction” to “go out of the conventional way to put a stay on the felling of trees in Aarey by Mumbai Authorities”.

After the Bombay high court refused on Friday to hear petitions challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision to chop more than 2,600 trees in the Aarey colony to make way for a metro shed, felling of trees began.

As The Wire reported, more than 1,000 trees were estimated to have been felled on Saturday despite protests from activists, politicians – including by the Shiv Sena, which administers the BMC, citizens and celebrities. Police took at least 29 persons into custody on Saturday. Another 55 people were taken into preventive detention.

On Sunday, the student delegation told the media that they have decided to approach the CJI because “there is no time left for filing an appeal petition and going through legal technicalities as by then Aarey will be cleared off by the Mumbai Authorities”. Prohibitory orders continued to be in force in the colony and surrounding areas on Sunday.

The police on Saturday imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Aarey, restricting movements and gathering of groups, and cordoned off the area.

Activists tried to get relief from the Bombay high court, by approaching the court again on Saturday and seeking a stay to tree cutting, so that they could approach the Supreme Court. The court refused to admit the plea.

Workers cut-down trees for the Metro car shed project in the Aarey colony of Mumbai on October 5, 2019. Photo: PTI Photo

More leaders detained on Sunday

Prakash Ambedkar was among politicians who were taken into preventive detention on Sunday. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader tried to enter the Aarey Colony in support of activists who are opposing the cutting of trees in the area to make way for a Metro car shed.

He said the Maharashtra government was using “muscle power” to silence those raising voice against tree felling.

When the VBA chief reached the Aarey area located in suburban Goregaon on Sunday, he was detained by police for a brief period. Later, after being released, he told reporters, “The green cover at Aarey Colony helps in the purification of air, the same way as fresh breeze coming from the Arabian Sea helps in keeping Mumbai air clean.”

“We were told that some 700 trees have been axed. We will continue to oppose the tree felling in all forms, even if we fail to come to power in the state after the upcoming assembly elections,” he said.

VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar. Credit: PTI

Members of a tribal community who reside in the forest area have also opposed the tree cutting, as they are largely dependent on the forest for their livelihood.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has defended tree felling, saying it is restricted only to a small area in the Aarey Colony and is necessary to ensure a modern transport system. The proposed car shed for the Metro-3 line (Colaba- Bandra-Seepz) will occupy 33 hectares.

Heavy security deployed

Heavy security was deployed at Aarey Colony’s five entry points, including the key connecting road near the Western Express Highway, to prevent people from going towards the area. Most shops, restaurants and roadside stalls remained closed in the area in view of the imposition of Section 144 since Saturday.

Patrolling was stepped up in the tribal hamlets located in Aarey area and those found assembling there were being taken into custody, but later let off after proper verification, he said.

He said that Section 144 will remain imposed in the area till the 2,600 trees are cut.

(With PTI inputs)

Aarey: Protests Intensify as MMRCL Hacks Trees, Several Activists Arrested

MMRCL began felling trees late on Friday night amidst heavy police cover.

Mumbai: City police has cordoned off the entire Aarey colony area in the Mumbai suburbs of Goregaon following massive protests against tree felling by local residents and environment lovers who had gathered in the area since Friday night.

Police have arrested 29 people and several others have been detained at the nearby police chowkie. Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which prohibits assembly of more than four persons in an area, has also been imposed around the colony.

A local magistrate court has sent all 29 activists to judicial custody for five days. Soon after their arrests, the activists had moved court seeking bail. The court rejected their plea.

A case has been registered under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of a 28-year-old woman police constable who was allegedly injured in a scuffle between the activists and police.

The agitation began late on Friday night when the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), amid heavy police deployment, began cutting trees in the area. Early in the day, the Bombay high court had rejected three petitions filed by different citizens groups against the MMRCL’s decision to fell 2,646 trees in the area.

Aarey, which is considered as a “green lung” of the city, is perhaps the only area that has dense forest cover in the city. Both MMRCL and the BJP government have maintained that Aarey is not a forest area and hence the trees can be axed.

Also read: It’s Aarey vs Metro Rail as Mumbai Continues to Lose Its Green Cover

The operation that began around 9.30 pm, went on till late at night. Several residents, mostly belonging to different Adivasi communities, tried to resist the cutting of trees. “At least 300 of them were axed in less than two hours. When we tried to resist, we were pushed out of the area. Now they have cordoned the entire area off and we are not able to even go nearby,” said Sushma Bhoye, a local resident and an activist.

Soon after the MMRCL decided to take this drastic move late at night, several citizens groups and environment lovers took to social media to condemn the move. Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, too, tweeted against it.

Several Sena leaders, who had visited the spot have been put under preventive detention, the police confirmed.

As the day progressed and the MMRCL continued to fell trees, petitioners once again moved the Bombay high court seeking a stay until they could file an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the high court verdict.

Since Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, who had passed the judgment rejecting petitions against the metro project on Friday was not available, the petitioners moved their plea before a Special Bench headed by Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari on Saturday.

The petitioners claimed that they had made an oral request before the presiding court on Friday for a stay. However, Justice Dharmadhikari observed, “There is nothing on record to show that any request was made to stay the operation, implementation and enforcement of the judgment and order, nor was any specific restraint sought. We cannot proceed on any oral understanding. Merely because another bench has been constituted, it would not be proper to grant any relief. The nature of the relief is such that if it is granted, it would directly contravene the observations, findings and conclusions in the detailed judgment.”

This was a last ditch attempt by the petitioners to save over 2,500 trees in the Aarey colony. Activists said that by late afternoon, MMRCL had already cut more than 1,500 trees. This claim, however, couldn’t be independently confirmed, nor did officials divulge numbers.

Earlier attempts

The Bombay high court while rejecting the petitions earlier, had observed, “The greens (environmentalists) have failed. They have failed in the instant petition because they have lost touch with the procedure to be followed as per law. The clock cannot be put back. We do not make any comments thereon as the petitioner has to now swim or sink before the Supreme Court.”

The court also refused to declare Aarey Colony a ‘forest’ which was one of the primary asks in one of the petitions filed by city-based NGO Vanshakti. The NGO had sought that Aarey Colony also be declared an ecologically sensitive zone, while another petition filed by green activist Zoru Bathena had pleaded that the area be given the status of a floodplain.

A Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav had also moved court against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which is under the control of the Sena itself, for having given the permission to hack the trees. The court has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Jadhav.

Also read: Mumbai Citizens Rue Loss of Hundreds of Old Trees Because of Metro Construction

Activists have accused the MMRCL of flouting rules and going ahead with the felling of trees even when a mandatory 15- days’ notice between grant of approval to cut trees and the actual cutting was not met. Oppositions have also accused the BJP of violating the ongoing Model Code of Conduct in the state by passing a new order and allowing its execution.

Photo: By special arrangement

The MMRCL chief Ashwini Bhide, however, claimed that it was false propaganda spread against the high court’s order. “A new false propaganda is in the air that 15 days’ notice is required after a tree authority order is uploaded on the website. This is absolutely baseless. Tree Authority order is issued on September 13, 2019. Fifteen days are over on September 28. Action was awaited until the honourable high court’s verdict was out,” Bhide wrote on her personal Twitter account.

Amid the ongoing outrage over tree felling, Union minister Prakash Javadekar in Lucknow said that the cutting of trees for the Mumbai Metro was similar to what was done in Delhi during the capital’s city’s metro rail construction phase.

“Today, Delhi Metro is the world’s best metro. But how did it develop? We had to cut at least 20-25 trees for one metro station. People protested then too; in the same way, they are protesting now. Later, we had planted five trees in place of one. And now, in 15-17 years, they have grown. We successfully constructed 271 stations, too. In this way, Delhi’s forest cover also grew and public transport service was provided to the 30 lakh Delhiites. This is how our ministry works. We work on development along with taking care of our environment,” he said.