Mumbai: The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday permitted the felling of around 22,000 mangroves from Mumbai, Thane and Palghar for the upcoming Mumbai – Ahmedabad bullet train project.
The order came on a petition filed by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) in 2020 which sought permission to cut around 53,000 mangrove trees for the 508 km long project connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The HC had, however, asked the NHSRCL to reduce the number of mangroves to be cut and the number was accordingly brought down to 21,997.
After the order was pronounced Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) through advocate Sheetal Shah sought a stay on the order, stating that the NHSRCL should not be permitted to use explosives as it would damage the surrounding trees and the corporation had failed to inform the bench of the measures it would undertake to ensure the survival of the compensatory saplings being planted. The court, however, refused to stay the order.
The division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Abhay Ahuja which heard the NHSRCL petition was informed by advocates Pralhad Paranjape and Manish Kelkar that following a direction of the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change and state environment department, the corporation had changed the alignment of two stations – Virar and Thane to ensure that the proposed 53,467 mangrove trees to be felled were reduced and thus were brought down to 21,997.
The advocates further informed the bench that the corporation had undertaken to plant five times the mangroves that would be cut and though the number had been reduced they had already paid the cost for planting 2.5 lakh saplings to the forest department.
NHSRCL had also added that it had got the requisite permissions from other authorities as well and was giving the undertaking to abide by whatever conditions were laid down by the HC as any delay in the project was detrimental to the public interest.
On Friday, the bench pronounced its order and said that it was permitting the felling of the 21,997 trees and expected NHSRCL to abide by its undertaking that it would strictly comply with all terms and conditions laid down in the approvals of the projects and the assurances it gave to the court.