On September 30, 2018, the police detained 18 members from 'Save Aarey' for protesting against the axing of trees on a plot where Mumbai Metro Rail Corp Ltd (MMRCL) is working on a car depot for Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 project.
When environmentalists believed that National Green Tribunal (NGT) had their backs, they received a setback when NGT refused to entertain their plea on declaring Aarey as a forest.
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On Sunday, around 80 activists gathered in Aarey and started protesting against MMRCL officers for axing the trees. Meanwhile, MMRCL personnel asked the police to press charges against the activists for obstructing the work. Around 18 were detained and they were asked to give written proof that they will not obstruct the work in future. As per Vanashakti NGO’s founder Stalin Dayanand, around 3,000 trees are likely to be affected due to depot work. He said that MMRCL is working on an illegal basis and police and Tree Authority are helping the same.
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In their defence, an MMRCL spokesperson said that the Tree Authority has approved cutting of trees as it is essential for the ramp, pylon shifting, and other Metro-related activities in three proposals and the tree-cutting is carried out as per Tree Authority’s approval. He added that MMRCL always conducts its activities by following legal procedures.
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