Maharashtra: Powai tree cut at redevelopment site, greens complain to civic body

Thane: Nature lovers have complained to the BMC commissioner that one healthy tree was cut on May 4 at a redevelopment site in Powai, Rambaug Lane, while another tree nearby has been damaged because its base is covered with concrete. Activists have urged the civic body to save the surviving tree, which stands next to Ram Ashram bus stop, from further harm. Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has now forwarded the complaint to the additional municipal commissioner (eastern suburbs), Dr Avinash Dhakne. NatConnect Foundation, which had written to the BMC about the Powai trees, stated that the surviving tree next to Ram Ashram bus stop had become vulnerable as the entrance of the redevelopment site had been shifted by the developers. "At a time when Mumbai is facing rising temperatures, worsening air quality and the broader threat of climate change, the preservation of every mature tree has become a civic and environmental necessity," said NatConnect director B N Kumar. Environmentalists say that excessive cement around a tree base can suffocate roots, block water absorption and eventually kill the tree. The complainant has sought an immediate inquiry into whether due permission from the BMC's gardens department was obtained before the tree was cut, and has urged authorities to initiate legal action if violations are found.