82 New Trees Planted at Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Metro Station

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has planted 82 trees at the Siddhivinayak Metro station. It was done to replace the trees that were felled during the construction of the station. 

The trees were grown in nurseries for the past four years. They were planted after the completion of the underground Siddhivinayak Metro station. The ground above the station was restored, and the trees were planted. This initiative is also being implemented at other Mumbai Metro 3 stations.

The update was shared by Ashwini Bhide, the Managing Director of MMRCL, and Mumbai Metro 3 officials on Platform X.

After completion of underground Siddhivinak Metro station, ground above is restored, properly grown-up trees of indigenous varieties are planted and garden is being restored. These trees were grown in nurseries for past 4 years. Similar action is being taken at other stations of… https://t.co/KAkVHZI5PH

— Ashwini Bhide (@AshwiniBhide) May 14, 2024

The trees planted at the Siddhivinayak Metro station include a variety of species, such as the Rain Tree, Sonmohar, Saptaparni, Taman, Chapha, Desi Badam, Khaya, Mahogany, Pimpal, and Umbrella Tree.  

However, civic activist Zoru Bathena noted that an additional 39 trees still need to be planted at the location. Environmentalists have also suggested that native tree species should be planted.

82 new trees planted at Siddhivinayak Station 💚
Thank You Mumbai Metro3

39 more to go at this station🤞🏼 https://t.co/rM4eYVLTBA

— Zoru Bhathena (@zoru75) May 13, 2024

Bathena, who represented the petitioners in the 2017 petition against the project's tree-cutting, highlighted that MMRCL had submitted drawings of 12 Metro stations in accordance with the committee's directives. 

The committee, appointed by the Bombay High Court, oversees the replacement of trees cut down for Metro 3. The delegation visited the stations and found that no trees had been planted at any station except Siddhivinayak Station.

MMRCL reported that they had planted 97 trees and removed almost 2000 others. As part of an in-situ plantation effort, MMRCL planted 38 trees earlier this month on Eros traffic islands near Churchgate to replace the trees that were taken down for the Churchgate underground Metro station. 

The species of trees planted included Desi Badam, Bakul, Mahogany, Sonchapha, Umbrella Tree, and Pimpal. These trees are being cared for by a tree contractor through regular irrigation.