MUMBAI: The BMC has issued a public notice for the cutting and transplantation of 1,828 trees on a plot at Vikhroli for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.
The notice said 1,687 of the trees are proposed to be cut and only 141 will be transplanted, and the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) will undertake compensatory plantation of more than 5,300 trees.
Sources said 86% of the trees (1,579) are of a girth of less than 30 cm, and 13% are in the category of 30-60 cm. Also, more than 67% of the trees (1,234) are of an invasive non-native type, locally known as subabhul, and generally used in livestock feed.
The 1,828 trees are on a four-hectare plot, where a traction and distribution substation will come up as part of the bullet train project, along with tunnel shaft and ventilation for tunnel works. As many as 1,243 trees will be affected because of the substations, which are to be built on two hectares, and the remaining will be affected because of the shaft and ventilation building.
Of the total 508 km of rail track between Mumbai and Ahmedabad for the bullet train project, about 21 km is planned to be underground. One of the entry points to the underground tunnel falls on the Vikhroli plot. The move follows the Bombay high court's dismissal in February of a petition by Godrej & Boyce challenging acquisition proceedings initiated by the Maharashtra government and NHSRCL.
A senior BMC official said, "The proposal was mooted first in 2018, but owing to the legal dispute, couldn't move ahead. The NHRSCL wrote to us last month that as the legal matter has now been cleared, one could begin the process of issuing a public notice and taking suggestions & objections. The BMC will complete the suggestion & objection process and forward it to the state tree authority for sanction."