The Aarey ‘Forest’ Controversy

This article was written by  Anjali Mehrotra, a student of RGNUL.

The Issue

A special vacation bench of the Supreme Court of India, on last Monday, ordered a status quo on the cutting down of trees in the Aarey neighborhood of Goregaon, Mumbai until any further notification indicates otherwise. The Aarey colony is assessed at 1,287 hectares and is located adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It a primary ‘green lung’ of the area.

The Bombay High Court’s Division Bench comprising of C.J. Pradeep Nandrajog and J. Bharati Dangrehad previously rejected the several petitions filed by NGOs and environmentalists that challenged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s( BMC) Tree Committee directive that allowed Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) the cutting of the trees in the Aarey locality to clear up space to build a car shed. The petitions had, among other things, also asked for the Aarey Colony be declared as a protected or a reserved forest under the Indian Forest Act, and a complete restriction on any development, construction or other non-forest work in the colony. The petitions were turned down on the ground that the issue has already been decided by a previous co-ordinate branch.

The antecedent order granted the Corporation the right to cut 3000 trees. This led to the protest by environmentalists and concerned citizens at a large extent and several petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court. The petitioners contend that the Chef Justice of the Bombay High Court had orally observed that the he hoped that the authorities would not begin cutting the trees before the petitioners had the opportunity to move to the Supreme Court. However, this is exactly what they did. Taking advantage of the holidays in the Supreme Court and amidst widespread protests by activists, environmentalists, celebrities and political parties, the MMRC went all out in felling the trees amid a curfew imposed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to keep the protestors away.About 29 protesters were arrested.The petitioners had eventried to obtain a stay order until they could move to the Supreme Court but this was also rejected by a special bench of the Bombay High Court.

Intervention of the Supreme Court

It was then, on the evening of 6^th October 2019, that the Vacation Officer of Supreme Court put out a notice stating that a Special Bench has been constituted and it will hear the plea on the 7^th of October on the ground of a letter addressed by Mr. Rishav Ranjan. The letter, in question, discussed the felling of trees in Aarey Colony in the State of Maharashtra and had been registeredas a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). This action was taken after a group of law students wrote to the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi requesting him to intervene in the issue and suspend the cutting of trees immediately. Consequently, a two-judge bench consisting of J.Arun Mishra and J. Ashok Bhushan was formed.

The students and the activists were represented by senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Gopal Shankaranarayanan, respectively. They argued that the subject of whether Aarey is a forest or not is impending before the Supreme Court. In addition to this, the National Green Tribunal is contemplating the matter whether it is an eco-sensitive zone or not.  Thus, the authorities should have abstained from cutting the trees. On the other hand, Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor-General of Maharashtra, appeared on behalf of the Maharashtra Government, stated that no more trees would be cut by the MMRC and that till the next date of hearing and that the validity of the felling of trees already conducted could be decided upon after the Dussehra holidays i.e. 21^st October.He also said that “whatever has to be cut is cut” indicating that a destroyed forest cannot really be restored by a judicial order and it remains ambiguous what action would be taken to reverse or correct the tree felling if the petitioners were to succeed.

The Supreme Court, along with ordering the stay on the felling of more trees, directed the release of the all the environmental activists who had been detained by the police for the protesting the felling of trees. The matter was referred to the Forest Board by the Court because the bench was already hearing the matter pertaining to the similar issues in T.N. Godhavarman’s case.

Current Situation

According to the MMRC, 2141 trees were allowed to be cut as per the Tree Committee order upheld by the High Court. In order to curb the protests and the objection of the cutting of trees, the MMRC went directly into damage control mode and announced that they would be transplanting some trees. Around 1800 were transplanted by the BMC.

 A recent report of India Today reveals that the tree transplantation took place at several different locations in Mumbai, mainly in Aarey and Sanjay Gandhi National Park.  The report stated that the trees were labelled with laminated paper on which they were assigned a serial number and the place the tree was brought from was also mentioned. However, only some of the trees were in good condition while the others were in poor condition.  A number of trees had died whereas some of them only had stems left. Trees transplanted to other locations were also in a similar state. The MMRC, on 9^th October, submitted that it had saved around 1800 tress from the metro car shed plot from the Aarey Colony. It also noted that 461 trees were subsequently transplanted.

In addition to this, the MMRC claims to have planted approximately 24000 trees across Mumbai, also covering Aarey, consisting of “sturdy native species like Behada, Kadamb, Karanj6-12-inch girth & 12-15 ft height planted”.  The disappointment continues as 800 of 1800 of the trees transplanted died.

Conclusion

 The cutting of trees is not only a current problem but also a future as it cats a dark shadow over the times to come. The reports by the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that polluted air has the capacity to fatally affect the health of the inhabitants. Modern technology has made air purifiers readily available for use but they can’t be afforded by all nor can they purify the air like trees. Therefore, cutting down of these trees would only increase the deprivation of Mumbai of a vital organ that has been protecting it from increasing air pollution. Moreover, it also a home to many animals and the lack of trees would lead to lose of a home to them. This could probably lead to a man-animal conflict and endanger the lives of both.