Churchgate- The Jamshedji Tata road from Churchgate station to Mantralaya has always been blessed with verdant green trees which flank it. But if the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has its way, 98 trees will soon be cut down to make way for the ambitious Metro-3 project.
Green activists have taken to the streets to save the green cover under a ‘Save Tree’ campaign. “MMRC should use the NATM method to construct the Metro station which is eco- friendly. But MMRC says that it is not possible,” Neena Verma, member, Save Tree, told Mumbai Live.
A total of 5011 trees are going to be cut down for the Metro-3 project, which will be followed by the Metro 2 A, Metro B, Metro 5 and Metro 7 projects. Save Tree activists are of the view that the project can be fructified without cutting down trees.
“We have collected 1700 signatures and will hand over the petition to the chief minister, to ensure that the green cover is not lost. If MMRC does not adhere to our request, then we will go to court,”said Shefali Patodia, member, Save Tree.
The ‘Save Aarey’ campaign has been fighting a similar battle to save 2000 trees which will be felled to make way for a car shed for the Metro project.
The New Austrian tunneling method (NATM), which the Save Tree campaign is propagating, is also known as sequential excavation method (SEM), and is a popular method of modern tunnel design and construction. This technique first shot into the limelight in the 1960s based on the work of Ladislaus von Rabcewicz, Leopold Müller, and Franz Pacher between 1957 and 1965 in Austria.
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