Mumbai’s infrastructure and redevelopment projects could lead to the cutting or relocation of 1,311 trees, while agencies have been asked to plant 20,119 replacement trees, according to a report by Loksatta – Mumbai. The proposals cover Central Railway expansion, building redevelopment and the construction of a new municipal employee building and water-pumping facility.
Of the 1,311 trees identified in the report, 610 are proposed to be cut and 701 are expected to be removed from their existing locations, with some of them to be replanted. The compensatory plantation requirement is more than 15 times the number of trees affected. However, questions remain over where all the replacement trees will be planted and which agency will be responsible for their long-term maintenance.
One proposal concerns the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s KEM Hospital campus, where an existing structure is proposed to be demolished to make way for an employee building. The project is expected to affect 50 trees. Of these, 28 are proposed to be cut and 22 to be replanted. In compensation, 1,110 trees are required to be planted through the Health Infrastructure Centre, with the Maharashtra Forest Development Corporation expected to undertake the plantation. The specific location for these trees has not been disclosed in the report.
A separate project at the BMC’s Bhandup Complex involves the development of a 2,000-million-litre clear-water pumping station. The report identifies 334 trees as obstacles to the project. Of these, 184 are proposed to be cut and 150 are expected to be replanted. The compensatory plantation for this project is planned at Ambha village in the Badlapur forest range in the Thane division, where 4,720 trees are to be planted.
The remaining affected trees are linked to the expansion of Central Railway routes and redevelopment projects at different locations in Mumbai. The report states that the authorities have identified plantation areas for the compensatory trees, but details about the actual sites, plantation schedule and maintenance arrangements remain unresolved in some cases.
The proposals place the city’s tree authority and the BMC’s environmental administration at the centre of the implementation process. Their role will include deciding whether trees are cut or relocated, monitoring compensatory plantation and determining how the replacement trees are maintained. The report said attention is now focused on the position these authorities take on the proposals.
The numbers underline the gap between removing trees from established urban sites and planting new trees elsewhere. While the proposals provide for 20,119 replacement trees, the report does not establish how many will survive, how long they will be maintained or whether they will be planted within the neighbourhoods affected by the projects. The next steps will depend on decisions by the civic administration and the tree authority on permissions, plantation locations and maintenance responsibilities.