Aarey Forest area, at centre of a raging protest over felling of trees for a Mumbai metro depot, cant be given a forest tag "just because it has greenery", Maharashtra government told Bombay High Court on Thursday. Government counsels Ashutosh Kumbhakoni and Anil Sakhare me this submission while seeking dismissal of a petition filed by an NGO named Vanshakti, which demanded that Aarey area in suburban Goregaon be declared a forest and an ecologically-sensitive zone.

Activists opposing

Activists are opposing proposed felling of over 2,600 trees in Aarey to make way for metro car shed and demanding relocation of depot, which is part of Metro III project. "Aarey cant be declared as forest just because re is greenery re. Aarey was formed in past as a milk colony and to keep cattle and horse stables," Sakhare told a division bench of Chief Justice Preep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre.

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Kumbhakoni told court that ar bench of high court h in October last year dismissed a similar petition filed by an activist, Zoru Bana, seeking forest tag for Aarey. In petition, Bana h challenged proposed construction of a Metro car shed at Aarey. " high court bench, while rejecting that petition, ted that it was erroneous to term Aarey a forest," Kumbhakoni said. An appeal against this order of high court has been filed in Supreme Court, where it is pending hearing, government counsel said. "Let apex court decide issue w. high court has alrey given its verdict. When matter has been alrey heard and concluded by high court, it need t be entertained again," Kumbhakoni argued.

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On Metro car shed

On a query me by court earlier on wher proposed Metro car shed could be constructed in suburban Kanjurmarg inste of Aarey, Kumbhakoni said land being talked about was t available for project due to "technical reasons". Ar government counsel, Shrihari Aney, told court that even assuming land at Kanjurmarg was available, it would "t be possible" to construct proposed Metro car shed re. " said car shed is for Metro III line connecting Colaba in south Mumbai to Seepz in western suburbs," Aney said. "Hence, car shed needs to be in Aarey. It is t feasible to have car shed at Kanjurmarg which is located kilometers away (from Aarey)."

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Aarey colony, measuring 1,287 hectares and located joining Sanjay Gandhi National Park, is kwn as a major green lung of metropolis. Several Bollywood personalities and politicians have also extended ir support to activists protesting against feeling of trees in Aarey. 

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