Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Tuesday invited the ire of the Bombay High Court and also received a lesson on the ecosystem from the court over a plea alleging unauthorised tree cutting. A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice NM Jamdar asked the BMC what would the children of the future learn if the ecosystem was damaged.
“What will you teach children? Trees, birds, squirrels, snails, bees…all have an important role to play in the ecosystem. We learnt in books about pollination, and how bees collect nectar and make honey, and the importance of nature….,” the bench said.
The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by a city resident alleging that in the name of routine pruning ahead of the monsoons, the BMC was chopping and hacking trees in the Kalanagar area of the city.
The petitioner Stephanie Richards told the court that in November last year, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) had sought the BMC’s permission to prune some trees within its office premises in Kalanagar.
