Mumbai: The BMC’s Garden Department has urged Bandra Police to take action against a Bandra salon for allegedly painting a banyan tree outside its premises. The civic body has also issued a notice directing the salon to remove the paint using safe, scientific methods and submit a compliance report along with an explanation.
Allegations against salon
In a letter, the civic body accused Tip & Toe Luxe salon at Pali Naka of illegally defacing and damaging a living banyan tree. An official said the salon allegedly engaged workers to paint the tree’s trunk and aerial roots in pink and green for aesthetic reasons, prompting corrective action. The BMC also cautioned that chemical or synthetic paints can severely harm trees by blocking lenticels, disrupting respiration, and causing physiological stress that may endanger their survival.
"The salon violated Sections 8 and 21 of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, which treats any form of damage to a tree as ‘felling’. Section 21 provides for up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh,” the letter stated, also citing National Green Tribunal directions mandating strict action against those who deface trees. However, the salon management clarified that only natural colours were used and also said that the paint was being removed.
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