The commencement of tunnelling for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project has been authorised by the Supreme Court, with permission granted for the removal of 95 trees from Mumbai’s Aarey forest under strict environmental conditions. The directive was issued by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran.
Under the order, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been instructed to carry out compensatory afforestation by planting 1,344 trees, a measure intended to offset the felling of 70 trees and the transplantation of 25 others. The Maharashtra State Tree Authority’s stipulation for afforestation was accepted by the court, along with a requirement for geotagging each newly planted tree to ensure tracking and accountability.
Expert assessments, including studies conducted by IIT Bombay, were presented by the BMC to establish that the selected alignment of the tunnel would lead to the least possible loss of trees. It was further noted that the court’s approval followed earlier proceedings on July 29, when the project was allowed to move forward but tree cutting was temporarily prohibited pending a review of alternative alignments and plantation plans. The court’s intervention was sought by the BMC following a January 2025 order that had prohibited any processing of tree-felling requests in the Aarey region. In the first phase of the project, trees situated near Film City in proximity to the Aarey forest are to be removed or relocated to facilitate the construction of a 6.62-kilometre underground tunnel. The removal is considered necessary to create operational space for heavy tunnelling machinery.
It was acknowledged by the bench that expert opinion confirmed no viable alternative route was available, making the current alignment the most sustainable in environmental terms. Objections raised by individuals and environmental organisations were heard, with references made to earlier court directions from 2019 and 2023 requiring the state to update the status of past plantation efforts in the Aarey forest. Adherence to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection & Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 was ordered, with a directive to the Conservator of Forests in Mumbai to provide a report on the survival and growth of trees planted in earlier afforestation efforts.
While affirming the importance of environmental conservation, the bench reiterated the principle of sustainable development, pointing out that the GMLR is expected to significantly reduce travel time between Goregaon and Mulund by over an hour. The hearing has been scheduled to resume in six weeks, by which time compliance updates on the afforestation plan are to be submitted.
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