Trees are what makes our environment clean and pure, giving us the oxygen we need. Is it right to cut down this living creature in the name of development?
Environmentalists have alleged that Metro authorities in the last two weeks have destroyed mangroves at Juhu-Koliwada, which is at the southern end of Juhu beach. And all this mindless destruction for building a casting yard for the Metro-2B (DN Nagar-Mandale) line.
This is being cited as yet another instance of the green cover being shorn for a development project. There was earlier a long drawn protest over the cutting of trees in Aarey, to make way for a car shed for the Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) corridor. Zoru Bhatena, an activist who visited the site on Thursday, told the Free Press Journal that nearly 10 acres (four hectares) of Juhu beach area has allegedly been destroyed by either cutting down or burning mangroves for the proposed yard.
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“Building a casting yard close to the sea itself is a senseless act. They will have to cement the entire area to make the yard and by the time the Metro is ready, people will forget that there was a beach area which was gobbled up by the Metro authorities. It is also a no-development zone,” said Zoru, adding, “I will also file a Right to Information (RTI) application to derive additional information.”
A casting yard is a confined place where all the concrete structures required for the metro project are assembled. In November 2017, the planning authority had appointed Simplex Infrastructures to construct 11 elevated stations for the 23.5 km-long Metro corridor. The total cost of constructing this corridor is put at Rs 1080 crore. The contractor for Metro-2B is building a casting yard at the site currently, officials confirmed.
Officials from the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) refuted the charges and said that no mangroves were destroyed to clear the land for a casting yard. An official said, “The land in question has been in MMRDA’s possession for the last six years. MMRDA can allow it to be used for temporary purposes. Thus, it is being used as a casting yard.”
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ON THE OTHER HAND
The Shiv Sena on Thursday raised strong objections to 12 proposals which were tabled in the tree authority committee meeting. All proposals pertain to the Mumbai Metro for which the authority needs to fell around 3,070 trees. Sena members have also demanded a probe into all trees that have been cut to date.
Yashwant Jadhav, a Sena corporator and a member of the Tree Authority, accused the BJP led state government of curtailing the powers of the tree authority by giving special powers to BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta so that he can unilaterally take a decision on tree cutting proposals.
The Sena has strongly opposed all Mumbai Metro projects which require tree cutting. It has taken the public stand that it will not allow the destruction of green lungs in the name of development. The Leader of Opposition, Ravi Raja, in the BMC, has claimed that Sena’s opposition to tree feeling is mere posturing. He added, “The CM has already taken up the Metro car-shed project in Aarey but Sena seems to be not taking any strong objection to that.”
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