BMC Sends Notice to Western Railway Over Alleged Felling of Trees at Matunga

Acting upon a complaint filed by activist and advocate, Deepak Chattopadhyay, the BMC has sent a notice to authorities of the Western Railway (WR) asking them to provide clarification on the allegations of tree felling. 

The complainant said that about 10 trees were chopped in a residential colony while the railway authorities failed to take any action. This reportedly came despite multiple reminders to the officials. The area in question is the Matunga Railway Colony situated on Tulsi Pipe Road.

“Without any permission from the BMC or the railways, a few residents had hired a private contractor to cut trees and use the vacant area to park their vehicles. These incidents are commonplace,” Chattopadhyay said.

The complainant said that is was a violation of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, adding, “The Act mandates that a proposal be submitted to the BMC garden department even before a single tree can be felled. However, no such proposal was submitted. Mumbai, a city starved of green spaces, is further losing its tree cover because of such rampant illegal activities.”

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The BMC’s tree department from the G North ward has said that it has not provided any permission for the felling of trees. Further, an inspection on the site by the civic body’s tree officer, Rupesh Poojari found around six to seven trees felled or with branches sawed off. 

Assistant Superintendent of the BMC’s Garden Department, Dayandev Mundhe said - “We issued a notice to the Western Railway authorities, seeking an explanation about the matter. If they are unable to present the permission for the felling of trees, action will be taken for the violation of the 1975 Act.”

However, Western Railway has denied all allegations of cutting off trees at the location. “We have not received any notice from the BMC. No tree felling has ever been carried out without the BMC’s permission. If a private party is involved, then it is within the BMC’s jurisdiction to take action”, WR’s Chief Public Relations Officer, Sumit Thakur said.

Also read - BMC Proposes Felling And Replacing Of Trees Across Mumbai For Infrastructure Projects