As per reports, the state government is said to re-asses the practicality of completion of a road-widening project from Wardha to Mahatma Gandhi’s Sevagram Ashram. As many as 70 trees have already been cut for the project, which requires felling of 168 trees.
The decision comes after three generations of Mahatma Gandhi’s family wrote a detailed letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday, September 2, requesting that the project be called off to protect the greenery.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, CM Thackeray announced that the government has decided to reserve 600 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) as a reserve-forest.
The ministry released a statement regarding the same as these recent developments make Mumbai as the first city in the world to have a vast forest in the heart of the city. Thackeray also confirmed that this move included the important decisions about the tribal community living in the forest, and the government has taken necessary steps to protect their rights.
The Aarey protests broke out last year when widespread protests had been ongoing against the Aarey land being used for the purpose of building a car shed for Mumbai Metro 3. As the Bombay High Court upheld the permission granted by the BMC Tree Authority in October, over 2,185 trees were razed overnight.