Mumbai: As the Supreme Court, earlier this week had pulled up the Maharashtra government for its “gross negligence” in compensatory afforestation, a group of environmentalists, activists, and citizens, led by Advocate Niranjan Deshpande, has written to the Chief Minister and Environment Minister, demanding urgent amendments to the state’s outdated tree protection laws.
Call for Reform of 1975 Tree Act
The group has called for an immediate overhaul of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, claiming that the existing legislation is ineffective and has enabled a “tree-cutting menace” to flourish unchecked across the state’s urban centres.
Loopholes Enabling Tree Felling
“The law, meant to protect urban trees, has failed in its objective,” the letter states, adding that the current framework allows tree felling under other legislations such as the Nagar Panchayat Act and the Highways Act, thereby undermining the Tree Authority’s powers and rendering the Act’s intent redundant.
Encroachments Under the Guise of Beautification
Speaking to FPJ, Advocate Deshpande alleged that even government bodies have encroached upon trees under the guise of city beautification.
“The lights and boards fixed on trees during festive seasons are encroachments. They are wrongly used for advertising purposes, obstruct heritage views, and harm the trees,” he said. “Such negligence endangers both the trees’ lives and citizens’ well-being. Strict action must be taken against the wrongdoers.”
Citizens’ Collective Push for Stronger Penalties
The six-page letter, endorsed by citizens from Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, and Kolhapur, highlights the recurring issues of illegal tree felling, weak enforcement, and lack of accountability.
The signatories have urged the government to bring in stronger penal provisions under Article 246(2) of the Constitution of India, and amend the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Tree Act of 1975.
Mounting Pressure After Supreme Court Rebuke
The appeal comes amid mounting public outrage over the state’s poor record in urban green management, particularly in Mumbai, where infrastructure projects have led to massive tree loss.
SC Warns of Action Against Mumbai Projects
The Supreme Court in its orders had warned that all prior permissions for tree felling in Mumbai’s infrastructure projects — including the Mumbai Metro and the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) — could be revoked if the government fails to take immediate corrective measures.
Judicial Scrutiny Intensifies Over Tree Loss
A bench headed by Chief Justice Bhushan R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran had made the scathing observations after a report revealed that only 50% of the 20,460 saplings planted under compensatory afforestation and CSR schemes for the Mumbai Metro project had survived.
GMLR Project Under the Scanner
The Supreme Court’s remarks came while hearing a plea from the BMC Tree Authority, which sought permission to fell 1,134 trees for the GMLR project connecting Film City in Goregaon with Khindipada in Mulund. The project aims to reduce travel time between Mumbai’s eastern and western suburbs through twin tunnels spanning 6.2 km.
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Balancing Development and Ecology
As environmentalists demand stronger green laws and the judiciary steps up its scrutiny, Maharashtra faces increasing pressure to prove that its development ambitions will not come at the cost of its dwindling urban tree cover.
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