SC permits Mumbai Metro to remove 177 trees from Aarey forest

Supreme Court on Monday permitted Mumbai Metro to remove 177 trees from Aarey forest, saying stay on tree felling will lead to project work being halted.

However, the apex court directed Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd to pay Rs 10 lakh fine within two weeks for felling of trees beyond permission.

Supreme Court fumed at MMRCL for seeking to cut more trees than authorised by it, nothing that it is an overreach of Supreme Court orders and amounts to contempt. Supreme Court warned the MMRCL officials of prison time for contempt of its order.

The Metro car shed project at Aarey Colony in suburban Goregaon has been embroiled in controversy with environmentalists holding protests against indiscriminate felling of trees in the area which they claim is a forest area.

Notably, the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2019 said the Metro car shed would be constructed at suburban Kanjurmarg and not Aarey Colony.

In June 2022, the Eknath Shinde-led state government reversed the decision and said the car shed will be constructed in the Aarey Colony only.