Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner’s powers to sanction felling of up to 25 trees is arbitrary and can’t be allowed without seeking opinion of tree experts.
A Division Bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla was hearing two public interest litigations filed by activist Zoru Bhathena, challenging the validity of the amendment to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, and a local resident Rohit Joshi, which alleges that the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) had illegally appointed several non-qualified members to the tree authority. Mr. Joshi said the move had posed a serious danger to the preservation and protection of trees, which is the objective of the Act.
The court said, “Decisions taken by the municipal commissioners should be uploaded on the websites of the BMC and the TMC along with a copy of the opinion of tree experts.”
The Bench said, “The decisions taken by the commissioners can’t be implemented for 21 days, which gives enough time to people to file an appeal against them. However, if a tree is found dead/dangerous and causing danger to life or property, then the 21-day ban will not be applicable to the commissioner’s tree removal order. All tree-cutting notices have to be published and circulated widely in English, Hindi and Marathi newspapers.”
On the Thane tree authority, the court said, “It is illegally constituted and needs to be reconstituted within three months. When the tree authority is not functioning, the commissioner cannot sanction felling of trees except in emergencies.”
In the previous hearing, the court said, “Though the trees Act was ratified in 1975, there has been no improvement in the tree cover till date, and any action affecting the ecological balance is a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens.”
