Shiv Sena wants Tree Authority experts replaced

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena members targeted the independent experts, who had earlier supported the controversial proposal of cutting over 2,100 trees in Aarey Colony for the metro car shed, at the Tree Authority meeting on Wednesday and sought that they be replaced. In August, the two experts--Dr Sashirekha Sureshkumar from the botany department of Mithibai College and Dr Chandrakant Salunke, head of the horticulture department at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, had resigned from the Tree Authority in the wake of the controversy, stating they had not endorsed the tree cutting proposal and it was cleared in a haphazard manner. The municipal commissioner had requested them to reconsider their decision, but they refused to do so.Insiders stated the experts were not willing to be part of the Tree Authority after the Aarey Colony tree-cutting controversy as they were misguided in supporting the proposal. Senior Shiv Sena corporator and Tree Authority member Yashwant Jadhav said, “There is no provision in the Act to reconsider a resignation. BMC should appoint new experts in their place.”Two more experts who are part of the Authority, Dr Manohar Sawant and Dr Deepak Apte, have been disqualified for not attending the last three meetings and not providing valid reasons either. They were not present when the Aarey proposal was cleared.That leaves just one expert, Subhash Patane, on the panel. Besides the municipal commissioner who is the chairman, the other members of the Authority comprise 14 corporators across the political spectrum.The Tree Authority’s approval is mandatory for cutting any tree in the city for infrastructure or other projects.In August, the Tree Authority cleared the highly controversial proposal to cut and transplant 2,702 trees in Aarey Colony for the Metro-3 car shed project. While the Shiv Sena was against the proposal, the BJP, with the help of NCP and experts, cleared the proposal with majority votes.Meanwhile, the Tree Authority members have put BMC’s proposal to cut around 800 trees in Kandivali for a hospital expansion project on hold. Jadhav said they will first examine the proposal in detail before taking any decision.