BMC chops off heritage tree, Mumbai police heckles man for elevating voice

The residents and activists of Vile Parle (East) in Mumbai, the place a 100-year-old heritage tree was hacked off by Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities three days in the past, have met with the BMC committee and urged them to not take away the stump of the tree in order that the tree could possibly be restored and recovered.

The civic physique has, nevertheless, requested a replica of the Bombay High Court ruling halting the tree’s chopping, in addition to an evidence as to “why they believe the tree’s chopping is illegal?” The BMC additional acknowledged that if the residents fail to carry a replica of the orders, the stump will likely be eliminated.

Mumbai police heckles activist for questioning the slicing of a heritage tree

The subject gained traction after movies emerged on January 22, Saturday, whereby the Mumbai Police have been seen manhandling a person and pushing him right into a police van. The man in query was a Mumbai based mostly environmental activist named Abhay Azad of the Save Aarey residents’ group.

In a video that went viral on January 22, Mumbai cops have been seen holding the activist by his neck and pushing him into the police van. Reports recommend the police had forcibly detained Abhay Azad for elevating questions when an enormous 100-year-old peepal tree was hacked within the Gaothan space of Vile Parle (East) on Saturday. He was additionally threatened with a First Information Report (FIR) after he protested towards the identical.

When a 100-year-old tree was being lower in Mumbai, environmental activist Abhay Azad questioned it

Within no time, he was forcefully put in a police van & was threatened with an FIR

Where are the pseudo-environment activists who did drama throughout Fadnavis period? pic.twitter.com/8By54brEc6

— Mahesh Vikram Hegde 🇮🇳 (@mvmeet) January 22, 2022

Speaking to ANI, the environmental activist Abhay Azad mentioned, “A 100-yr-old tree was being cut in the Vile Parle area today. I asked BMC officers for permission under which it was being done. I was later forcefully put in a police van and was threatened with an FIR against me. Last year, the Maharashtra govt declared every tree above 50 years as a heritage tree. If trees will be cut down like this, there will be no heritage left in the city. It is unfair if a citizen is punished for raising the voice for the protection of trees.”

Azad in an unique interview with Mirror Now revealed that he acquired info on WhatsApp {that a} tree close to his dwelling was being lower down. He then rushed to the situation and requested that the officers there present him legitimate permissions for the tree to be felled. He mentioned that they confirmed him an outdated 2018 letter to justify their motion.

MUMBAI: ACTIVIST QUESTIONS TREE CUTTING, DETAINED!
Activist #AbhayAzad, the activist who was seen being manhandled by the Mumbai cops, speaks to #MirrorNow concerning the incident. He mentioned he “requested” the officers to not lower the tree pic.twitter.com/xBJJRZIa8v

— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) January 23, 2022

Azad additional acknowledged that three years in the past, he and a fellow activist had made submissions to save lots of the tree in query. The inexperienced activist mentioned it was shocking to see BMC authorities arrive on the website years later and lower down the tree.

It could also be famous that TOI that has named the aforementioned activist as Abhay Bavishi, reported that he has now written to the BMC, in addition to state setting minister Aaditya Thackeray concerning the allegedly unlawful tree slicing.

“This looks like an illegal tree cutting because the order to cut it is dated 2018. What was the need to hack it now, after nearly four years, when the tree was not coming in the way of anything? It looks like some builder lobby wanted to get rid of this heritage tree in order to develop the Gaothan area. It is tragic that this big peepal tree could not be saved,” TOI quoted one other activist Zoru Bathena as saying.

Maharashtra Govt led by Uddhav Thackeray clears motion plan for cover of heritage bushes

It’s price noting that the Maharashtra authorities handed an motion plan in June 2021 to guard bushes older than 50 years in city areas, dubbing them as ‘historic trees’.

The plan that was handed on June 10, 2021, included the idea of heritage bushes and conservation, a course of to outline the age of the tree, plantation as compensation, pointers to be adopted earlier than slicing down bushes, forming a Maharashtra Tree Authority, an area tree authority and their duties, tree census, deciding on a tree plantation land, tree transplantation, and fines that might be imposed.

As per the plan, bushes older than 50 can be termed heritage bushes and a State-level Tree Authority can be shaped to guard and protect these heritage bushes. 

Here it turns into crucial to recall how the Shiv Sena govt led by Uddhav Thackeray has been enjoying petty politics over the Aarey forest ever for the reason that Shiv Sena supremo took over the Maharashtra’s chief minister’s seat.

Shiv Sena and its activism over Aarey Forest

The Uddhav Thackeray-led govt, in a vindictive order, had declared the Aarey space the place the metro automobile shed was planed as ‘forest land’ and had shifted the ability to authorities land in Kanjurmarg. The choice to shift the metro automobile shed got here after a number of left-wing activists and Sena prince Aaditya Thackeray had expressed their disapproval for the development of the metro shed at Aarey.

Even although the metro mission will considerably enhance the setting by eradicating lakhs of fossil fuel-guzzling autos from the roads, the mission was opposed resulting from political causes. The choice to shift the metro automobile shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg will now improve the mission’s value by no less than Rs 4,000 crore, which was estimated by a committee appointed by the present authorities. Further, the mission can even be delayed by a number of years resulting from ongoing litigation and the situation of the brand new website.

After cancelling Metro Shed mission in Aarey, Maharashtra govt eager on monetizing ‘forest land’

Months after arbitrarily cancelling the much-needed Metro mission close to the Aarey space by claiming it as a ‘forest’ land, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities in Maharashtra had abruptly appeared eager on monetizing the Aarey Forest land.

In a authorities decision issued in May final 12 months, the Maharashtra authorities had appointed a five-member committee headed by Madhav Kale, director of planning and transport of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, to recommend how the federal government can monetize its land and lift funds for its numerous initiatives.

U-turn of Shiv Sena on environmental activism

The ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, which regularly advocates for eco-conservation by cancelling the metro mission at Aarey on ‘concerns’ that bushes are being lower, earlier took a U-turn by deciding to axe greater than 300 bushes for the development of a metro line the elevated Metro-2A hall between Dahisar and DN Nagar. Shiv Sena, particularly beneath the management of Aaditya Thackeray, had been extraordinarily vocal on the problems of environmental dialog, because the younger Sena prince had opposed the BJP authorities’s choice of felling of bushes at Aarey Milk colony to assemble a Metro shed.

A month after excessive activism by Shiv Sena to impress its coalition events – Congress and NCP, Sena had uncovered its hypocrisy by ordering the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation to cut down 1,000 bushes for a Bal Thackeray memorial in Priyadarshini Park. Interestingly, the environmental activists, NGOs and liberals who had hit the streets to protest towards the then BJP authorities within the state for axing the bushes at Aarey colony have now suspiciously chosen to stay silent. Perhaps, the activist appears to have come to a conclusion that it’s a proper step to axe the bushes for the metro as the choice has been taken by the secular alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and the NCP.