Citizens tie rakhis around trees to be cut in Matunga | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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Citizens tie rakhis around trees to be cut in Matunga

Feb 05, 2023 11:24 PM IST

The area near the Indian Gymkhana of M Madhavan Marg and Bhartiben Ramchandra Shah Marg is a well-shaded, quiet and quaint locality, described by many as one of the island city’s last remaining green spaces.

Mumbai: At least 100 citizens – mostly residents of Matunga, King’s Circle and Wadala – participated in a silent protest march on Sunday morning against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) proposal to cut 30 trees in Matunga for road widening. They also tied rakhis to each of the 30 trees and vowed to protect them.

“The BMC has just announced a <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>52,000 crore budget. The focus is only on so-called development and the victims are always trees,” Prajakta Samant – a resident of the area who participated in the march – said. “Their latest deadly plan is to cut off 30 old trees. We walked around the area and tied a rakhi to the trees marked out for chopping. Our ardent hope is to save them.” (HT PHOTO)
“The BMC has just announced a 52,000 crore budget. The focus is only on so-called development and the victims are always trees,” Prajakta Samant – a resident of the area who participated in the march – said. “Their latest deadly plan is to cut off 30 old trees. We walked around the area and tied a rakhi to the trees marked out for chopping. Our ardent hope is to save them.” (HT PHOTO)

The area near the Indian Gymkhana of M Madhavan Marg and Bhartiben Ramchandra Shah Marg is a well-shaded, quiet and quaint locality, described by many as one of the island city’s last remaining green spaces.

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“The BMC has just announced a 52,000 crore budget. The focus is only on so-called development and the victims are always trees,” Prajakta Samant – a resident of the area who participated in the march – said. “Their latest deadly plan is to cut off 30 old trees. We walked around the area and tied a rakhi to the trees marked out for chopping. Our ardent hope is to save them.”

The BMC had placed public notices informing about the removal of the trees between January 24 and 29. There are a total of 90 trees in the area which residents say are at risk from the road widening, for which the civic body has not provided a reasonable justification.

Grishma Lad, a resident and an advocate, had last year filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court seeking protection for the affected trees, which include a particularly imposing peepal that is estimated to be about 100 years old.

“In September 2022, the BMC’s gardens department numbered 90 trees in the area for road widening. Through RTI requests, we learnt that the BMC is planning to widen the road from 8 metres to 13 metres. They did not give any reason for this except that the city’s 1977 development plan proposes the future widening of the road to 13 metres,” added Lad.

However, she said that in 46 years no resident has put forward this demand.

As of Sunday evening, an online petition to save the trees has garnered over 1,100 signatures.

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