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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Don’t cut any more trees for new metro

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NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a halt to the cutting of trees in financial capital Mumbai for an ambitious subway project that has sparked protests from activists opposed to the felling to build a train parking shed.


“We direct the Maharashtra government not to cut any more trees in Aarey,” Justice Mishra, heading the two-judge bench, said, requesting that Maharashtra state maintain the status quo until the next hearing on October 21.


The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) started cutting the trees for building the Metro rail yard after the Bombay high court dismissed petitions challenging the felling of 2,464 trees from Aarey colony.


Activists, Bollywood stars and some politicians have opposed cutting down some 2,700 trees in Mumbai’s few green spaces, saying it would exacerbate pollution levels.


“By ruining green carpet, what kind of developing nation are we giving our future generation? Yes, we are saying that we will plant 20,000 trees but how many of them will survive? These trees are here at the Aarey colony for 100 years. Today we plant trees and tomorrow we cut them again, that is not how it works. Planting trees is not always the solution, retaining old trees and green carpet is important,” actor Riteish Deshmukh shared his views on the situation.


Authorities counter that there is no other viable location for the shed in the crowded city of some 20 million. And proponents say the metro will be far more beneficial to the environment than the trees, warning that Line 3, slated to open in December 2021, could now be delayed due to the opposition.


It was not immediately clear how many trees had already been cut down. Police detained dozens of activists trying to protect the trees.


The Indian Express newspaper, citing senior officials, reported that 2,134 trees were already gone. The MMRCL did not immediately respond to a request for information.


The controversy over the trees has become a political issue in Maharashtra, which is holding state elections on October 21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s local ally, the Shiv Sena party, has criticised the decision to cut the trees.


The Mumbai Metro 3 is a 35 kilometre project due to carry an estimated 170,000 people a day.


An average of ten people, mostly the poor, now die every day on Mumbai’s overcrowded trains, according to the government. — Reuters/IANS


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