Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary singer, recently took to Twitter to vouch for the Aarey Forests. She urged the government to look into the matter and devise a plan for its annulment. The BMC had earlier allowed the axing of 2,700 trees. This process is to take place to construct a car shed for the metro in the Aarey colony, adjacent to the suburban Goregaon.  

READ: Shraddha Kapoor Joins The Protest To Save Aarey Forest, Questions BMC

Bombay HC seeks to obtain answers on the axing of Aarey 

Bombay High Court has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to respond to the petition filed against the axing of trees in the Aarey Forest. This petition was filed by Zoru Darius who questioned the chopping of 2,700 trees. The petition stated that the Tree Authority that comes under the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, issued a public notice asking people for their opinions on a proposal by MMRCL, seeking the removal of around 2,700 trees at Aarey on June 30, 2019. Over one lakh people objected to the proposal which called for a public meeting. The public meeting was attended by Zoru Darius and 500 other people to protest against the decision.

READ: Aarey Forest: Bombay High Court Seeks Answers From MMRDA And MCGM

BMC response to Aarey 

The BMC responded on September 4, stating that no trees will be cut in a fortnight as formal clearance is yet to be obtained. The BMC told the Bombay HC that the clearance process will take 15 days. The Tree Authority has 19 members at present including the BMC Commissioner. Five of these members are independent experts nominated by the BMC in accordance with their own rules and regulations. BMC however, did not answer back to the hundreds of people objecting to the felling of trees. Furthermore, three experts from The Tree Authority had earlier stated that they did not have adequate time to go through the proposal to examine all the trees that are to be axed.

(Inputs from PTI)

READ: Massive Fire Breaks Out In Aarey Colony Near Film City