Mumbai’s Tree Authority will review proposals to remove more than 200 trees for redevelopment schemes, hospital construction and the Coastal Road North project at its meeting on October 21. The agenda includes applications from developers, civic departments and project consultants, but the listing of a proposal does not mean permission has been granted.
The largest proposals relate to Slum Rehabilitation Authority redevelopment schemes. In Sewri, Sahana Builders and Developers Pvt Ltd has sought permission to remove 41 trees and replant 30 to enable excavation for the plinth and basement of buildings planned under a scheme involving Ganesh Bagh SRA Cooperative Housing Society and nine other societies.
A site inspection at the Sewri plot recorded 74 trees, of which 71 were identified as affected by the proposed excavation. The Tree Authority will consider the application under Section 8(2) of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975.
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 excavation and construction for buildings, podiums, ramps, a drain and associated road infrastructure.
Another application concerns a proposed hospital in Kandivali West. Akar Architects and Consultants has sought permission to remove 43 trees and replant 54. The civic inspection found 411 trees on the plot, including 97 identified as being affected by construction. The remaining 314 trees are proposed to be retained.
The agenda also includes a combined SRA redevelopment proposal covering Jai Hanuman and Tejomay societies in Andheri East and Vighnaharta SRA Cooperative Housing Society in Jogeshwari East. L K Housing LLP has sought permission to remove 22 trees and replant eight. The civic inspection recorded 148 trees on the site. Of these, 106 were identified in relation to earlier permissions under the revised plan, with 99 proposed to be affected.
For the Mumbai Coastal Road Project North, 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 described as being affected by the alignment of a temporary access bridge needed for construction of the planned Coastal Road interchange bridge. The proposal records all three trees as dead.
The applications place redevelopment, public infrastructure and institutional construction alongside tree-retention and replanting measures in the same approval process. The figures in the agenda also distinguish between trees present on each site, trees identified as affected and trees proposed for retention or replanting.
The Tree Authority’s October 21 meeting will determine how the proposals proceed under the applicable tree-preservation law. Until the authority grants approval, the proposed removal of the trees should not be treated as authorised.
