Heritage Trees Massacred for Mumbai’s Metro 3 Construction

Magnificent, old trees of South Mumbai massacred in preparation for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro III Line.

A man cuts an old tree in Churchgate, South Mumbai. (Photo Courtesy: Tunali Mukherjee) 

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has begun the process of hacking down more than 5,000 trees across the island city to pave the way for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro III line. Tree-felling commenced aggressively in mid-May in the old South Mumbai areas of Colaba, Fort, Churchgate and Hutatma Chowk – few of the remaining green areas of Mumbai, with massive, ancient trees.

Residents and activists described the sight as a “massacre” and have since been trying to pause this enterprise and force the government to think of alternatives.

(Graphic: The Quint)

This ambitious project on the north-south axis of the city will connect the Cuffe Parade business district to the suburbs of Andheri. The MMRC has also acquired 28 hectares of land for a car shed in the northern green lungs of Mumbai, Aarey Colony.

The MMRC claims that cutting these trees is a well-researched move, backed by six months of research. (Graphic: The Quint)

Bombay’s Oldest Trees Axed

For the last few weeks, men with motorised hacksaws have been taking down regal gulmohar and banyan trees across the city, including the landmark 500-year-old banyan tree next to Siddhivinayak Temple.

Scenes from the destruction. (Photo courtesy: Ashwin Nagpal)

Scenes from the destruction. (Photo courtesy: Ashwin Nagpal)

A man cuts an old tree in Churchgate, South Mumbai. (Photo courtesy: Tunali Mukherjee) 

The MMRC claims this is necessary for the infrastructure, but that’s being disputed by furious residents of South Mumbai, many of whom have lived there for generations and grown up with the trees. “The devastation is massive,” says Tunali Mukherjee, a resident of Churchgate who has protesting against the “murders”.

(Graphic: The Quint)

A Peepal tree planted in 1967 in South Mumbai, axed. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Abhay Azad)

‘Stop Cutting My Damn Trees’: Residents Livid On Losing Green Cover

This allegedly indiscriminate felling has been met with much resistance, sweat and tears from the residents.

(Graphic: The Quint)

A broken nest on the ground after the tree it was on was felled. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Zoru Bhathena)

A protestor hugs a tree in a Chipko-moment to prevent it from being axed. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Zoru Bhathena)

The body of a young bird lies on the ground as its nest was destroyed by the tree felling. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Zoru Bhathena) 

Nostalgia aside, the residents are also concerned about the environmental, legal and safety aspects of this tree-felling “frenzy”. Citizens have reported a murder of crows on their windowsills since the trees with their nests have been cut down, in many cases with young birds and eggs in them.

Many claim that the MMRC does not have all the necessary permissions to raze trees and in the absence of a tree officer, adequate safety measures are not being taken, with huge trunks being pulled down onto roads during rush hour in the evenings. Some even suspect that the wrong, and often extra, trees are being cut due to improper demarcation or simply shortsightedness.

Citizens Speak

The MMRC has been confident in its position. It has maintained that it has all the necessary permissions to cut trees from the Tree Authority and is carefully monitoring and following all norms during the felling process.

However, the citizens disagree. According to them, the Tree Authority’s permission is problematic because:

• It was granted before the project got clearance for the Pollution Control Board or the Coastal Regulation Zone.
• It was granted without checking the title of the lands on which trees to be axed are located; some were private properties.
• It was granted despite noticing gross negligence by the MMRC while submitting the proposal, such as marking 20-feet-wide trees as 2-feet-wide and being approved for felling.

Additionally, the location of the terminal station and car shed are have been under dispute in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for two years, which means the alignment of the route and hence, the trees to be axed, are subject to change.

Then there are other concerns, like the MMRC’s inability to fulfil its promise to the BMC to plant three trees for every tree it cuts, or its abysmal track record at transplanting trees in a way that enables them to survive.

A spot check by Zoru Bhathena revealed marshy, flooded land next to an oil refinery, marked for transplantation in Wadala. (Photo courtesy: Zoru Bhathena)

(Graphic: The Quint)

The Fight So Far

Nina Verma, a citizen-activist, along with others, approached the Bombay HC in February with their arguments for a stay on the tree-felling for the metro. The court granted the stay only to vacate it three months later. They then approached the Supreme Court, which disposed of their plea and asked the HC to form a two-judge committee to look into the matter.

However, before a committee could even be created, the tree-felling began. When the petitioners approached the HC again on 27 May for a stay until at least the committee was formed, the judges refused, saying a balance had to made between development and the environment.

The before and after view from Churchgate resident Tunali Mukherjee’s window. (Photo Courtesy: Tunali Mukherjee)

With the speed at which they’re going through the case, we will have no trees left by the time any committee is made. What good will a committee be then? 

Zoru Bhathena

The court has deferred the next hearing until 5 June by which South Mumbai is set to look distinctly bare. The citizen group is holding an open funeral for the trees “cut down in their prime” to say a final goodbye on 2 June and is lobbying to spread the word and find strength in numbers.

(Photo courtesy: Tunali Mukherjee)