Mumbai’s Tree Authority will review proposals to remove more than 200 trees for slum rehabilitation redevelopment, hospital construction and the Mumbai Coastal Road North works at its meeting on October 21, placing a series of construction-linked tree-felling requests before the civic body’s statutory approval process.
The agenda includes a request to remove 41 trees for an SRA redevelopment project in Sewri, 76 trees for another SRA scheme in Worli, 43 trees for a proposed hospital in Kandivali West, and 22 trees for a combined redevelopment project in Andheri East and Jogeshwari East. A separate proposal seeks permission to remove three trees in Goregaon West for a temporary access bridge linked to the planned Coastal Road interchange bridge.
The proposals will be considered under Section 8(2) of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. Their inclusion on the meeting agenda does not mean that permission to remove the trees has been granted.
In Sewri, Sahana Builders and Developers Pvt Ltd has sought approval to remove 41 trees and replant 30 to enable excavation for the plinth and basements of buildings under an SRA scheme involving Ganesh Bagh SRA Cooperative Housing Society and nine other societies. A civic site inspection recorded 74 trees at the location, of which 71 were identified as being affected by the proposed excavation.
In Worli, Skylark Buildcon Pvt Ltd has sought permission to remove 76 trees and replant 23 for an SRA redevelopment scheme involving Shri Sai Sundar Nagar SRA Cooperative Housing Society and 24 other societies. The proposed work includes building and excavation activity for structures, podiums, ramps, a drain and associated road infrastructure.
The Kandivali West proposal, submitted by Akar Architects and Consultants, seeks permission to remove 43 trees and replant 54 for a hospital building. The site inspection found 411 trees on the plot. Of these, 97 were identified as affected by construction, while 314 are proposed to be retained.
The Andheri East-Jogeshwari East proposal concerns a combined SRA redevelopment scheme involving Jai Hanuman and Tejomay societies in Andheri East and Vighnaharta SRA Cooperative Housing Society in Jogeshwari East. Developer L K Housing LLP has requested permission to remove 22 trees and replant eight. The civic inspection recorded 148 trees on the site, with some covered by earlier permissions. Of the 106 trees identified as relevant to the revised plan under those earlier approvals, 99 are proposed to be affected.
For the Coastal Road North project, the BMC bridges department has sought permission to remove three trees and replant 37 near Mindspace Garden on MDP Road in Goregaon West. The trees are linked to the alignment of a temporary access bridge required for construction of the planned Coastal Road interchange bridge. The proposal records all three trees as dead.
The agenda brings redevelopment, public health infrastructure and a major transport project into the same tree-clearance process. It also shows that the number of trees at a site, the number identified as affected and the number proposed for removal can differ substantially, making the authority’s scrutiny of site inspections, earlier permissions and replanting commitments central to the October 21 meeting.
