The Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to urgently address the issue of tree choking due to concretisation in the Deonar area.
This directive comes after the BMC’s Tree Authority assured the court that it would tackle the problem on a war footing, following a petition filed by Irfan Ahmed Khan, a resident of Govandi-Deonar.
Khan’s petition highlighted the plight of 38 trees in the Deonar area, where illegal concretisation around the trunks was obstructing water percolation, causing the trees to wither and bringing them to the verge of dying. He claimed that the BMC’s Tree Authority had failed to respond to complaints regarding the alleged felling and theft of trees by a nearby educational institute, Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji Shikshan Sanstha.
During the hearing, a vacation bench comprising Justices Nitin R. Borkar and Somasekhar Sundaresan instructed the BMC to expedite the removal of concrete around the affected trees. The court also mandated local police to provide necessary protection for authorities accessing the trees to carry out the required work. Advocate Altaf Khan, representing the petitioner, stressed the urgency of the situation and suggested that the tree authority collaborate with arborists to assess the damage and determine if any trees could be salvaged. The BMC officials, while acknowledging the complexity of the task due to the presence of reinforced cement concrete, assured the court that efforts would be made to break the concrete manually, as environmental regulations prohibit the use of tools.
The court emphasised the need for immediate action, directing the BMC to continue the exercise as swiftly as possible. The bench noted that the petitioner’s inputs and assistance would be valuable in assessing the extent of the damage. Furthermore, the court instructed the BMC to formulate an empirically-backed report to ascertain whether the trees are beyond redemption or can be salvaged.
In its order, the court stated, “Should it be determined that they can be salvaged, we trust the municipal authorities will work on the same in parallel, even while the concrete and debris are being removed from the other trees.” The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on June 20.
This directive underscores the critical need for urban authorities to prioritise environmental sustainability and respond swiftly to ecological concerns, ensuring the preservation of urban greenery.
