The Supreme Court on Monday stayed further cutting of trees in Mumbai's Aarey Colony area, the site for a proposed Mumbai Metro car shed.
The bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra directed Mumbai's municipal authorities after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Maharashtra, informed the apex court that no further felling of trees is required for now.
The authorities have been cutting trees since Friday after the Bombay High Court refused to declare Aarey a forest area and declined to quash Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's decision to cut more than 2,600 trees in the suburban green zone.
The Supreme Court heard the case after four law students wrote to the Chief Justice seeking its intervention in the issue. The students argued that felling of trees is illegal as Aarey is an eco-sensitive zone.
The apex court bench also ordered the release of all individuals who were arrested for protesting the felling of trees in Aarey Colony.
Aarey is a suburban region in Mumbai which, along with the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, serves as the lungs of Mumbai and is home to Adivasi communities. The activists were protesting construction of a Mumbai Metro car shed in the region. The felling of trees will have a severe impact on ecological balance in the area surrounding the forests, they claimed.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
