And today, on April 25, the MMRCL started felling more trees in Aarey Colony’s Prajapurpada village to make way for a shunting neck for the Metro-3 train. Line-3 (Aqua Line) of the Mumbai Metro is a 33.5 km under-construction metro line with 27 stations that connects Cuffe Parade, Bandra Kurla Complex, and Aarey Colony. It is important to note that, of the 177 trees felled, 53 will be transplanted and 124 will be permanently cut down, with the Supreme Court having cleared the way for the rail corporation.

Kishan Bhoye, an Adivasi resident of Prajapurpada, who belongs to the Kokna tribe, spoke to the Hindustan Times and stated that “Throughout the morning, we could hear the sound of electric saws at work behind the barricades set up by MMRCL. There was police bandobast (presence) not only in Prajapurpada but also at Picnic Point in Aarey, and even in the SEEPZ area near Sariput Nagar. My family has cared and lived off these trees for at least three generations. They have taken away a part of our identity.” As provided by the Hindustan Time, Kishan used to run a general store in Sariput Nagar which was demolished by the MMRCL during the 2017 evictions. He stated that even though he had been given an alternative store in Kanjur, it is too far from the main road and doesn’t generate enough income.

Social media is flooded with videos showing a large number of police officers deployed in the area. Authorities are also being accused of felling more than 177 trees. According to the Hindustan Times, environmentalists and adivasis living near the project site estimate that the total number of “unnumbered” trees is between 90 and 100, which have not been granted permission to be felled. Among them were at least three fig trees, one pipal, one mango tree, a mulberry tree, and a coconut palm.

The video can be viewed here:

Amrita Bhattacharjee, one of the petitioners in the case of the felling of the tree in Aarey before the Supreme Court, expressed her disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision as well as her concerns about the illegal felling of the tree, and stated, “It is a shame that our submissions were not considered by the apex court. Despite the urgency of the situation, I filed a complaint with the forest department and IIT-Bombay about the undercounting of trees but received no response. Furthermore, because this project site is on a steep hill where JCB machines cannot reach, there is widespread concern that even trees designated for transplantation have been felled en masse,” as reported by the Hindustan Times.

The plight of the Adivasi Budhiya Bhoye, who had been living in the Aarey forest area, is also being highlighted on social media, with emphasis on the snatching away of their livelihood. Budhiya was the only Adivasi petitioner in the proceedings before the Supreme Court, while the others were filed by environmental activists including Zoru Bhatena, Amrita Bhattacharjee, Rishav Ranjan and NGO Vanashakt. The Bhoyes, whose eviction was halted by the Bombay High Court order in 2018, are now the only family in Prajapur to continue practicing indigenous land use, harvesting fruits, tubers, and a few vegetables for personal consumption and sale, as reported by the Hindustan Times. Unfortunately, the natural resources that had allowed them to do so are now being depleted, with the MMRCL felling 124 trees in the area, 75 of which are cared for by the Bhoyes.

It is important to note that the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) evicted 61 Adivasi families from the pada in 2017, many of whom were engaged in small-scale agriculture and horticulture, and 2,141 trees were felled by the MMRCL in October 2019 amidst heated protests.

Related:

SC reprimands Mumbai Metro on its bid to fell additional trees in Aarey, imposes Rs 10 lakh fine

Protests on attack on JNU students: Mumbai police withdraws case against 36 protesters

Protest in ‘Struggle To Save Aarey ‘ in Mumbai

SC forbids Mumbai Metro from cutting trees in Aarey colony

Metro car shed to shift from Aarey forest to Kanjurmarg

Bombay HC stays order shifting metro car shed

Truth prevails! Maha govt to declare parts of Aarey as reserved forest

The post Trees felled in Aarey at 5am amidst heavy police deployment appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While addressing a press conference, Mr. Thackeray said that he has given orders to stop work on Aarey car shed. He stated that while he has not ordered work on the Metro project itself to stop, he won’t allow trees in Aarey to be killed.

“Not even one tree leaf will be cut as long as I am the CM,” Mr. Thackeray declared.

The Bombay High Court had on October 4 refused to declare Aarey Colony a forest and declined to quash the Mumbai municipal corporation’s decision to allow felling of over 2,600 trees in the green zone to set up a metro car shed. The MMRC began felling trees in the area on the same day that the judgement was pronounced.

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered a stay against the tree-felling in Aarey, which is still continuing.

On October 6, in the midst of the tussle between environmentalists and Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation over the latter beginning to cut trees for the project, Thackeray had shown vocal support to the activists and promised to take action against those responsible for the tree-cutting if voted to power in the elections. This was of course ironic given how the municipality was under his party’s control! But now that he is CM, he was forced to walk the talk.

A large number of protestors attended Mr. Thackeray’s oath-taking ceremony in the hope that the new Maharashtra Chief would declare Aarey as a forest. At today’s conference, Thackeray noted that the incident of cutting trees overnight is unacceptable

Earlier today, in its mouthpiece “Saamna,” the Shiv Sena said that Prime Minister Modi and Uddhav Thackeray share brotherly ties and that it is Modi’s responsibility to co-operate with his “younger brother” who has taken charge of the state.

Thackeray noted that he is the first Chief Minister of the state that was born in Mumbai. “It is going on in my mind, what I can do for this city,” he said.

Related:

Ban on tree felling to continue in Aarey: SC

SC on Aarey: Stop tree felling till Oct 21

A Tryst with Aarey: October 10, 2019

Aarey Adivasis seek forgiveness from felled trees

The post Uddhav Thackeray stops tree cutting at Aarey appeared first on SabrangIndia.