Citizens shocked as Marine Drive becomes treeless

Mumbai: Images of a treeless walking path on the restored Marine Drive promenade after the inauguration of the Mumbai Coastal Highway have shocked residents of the area.

According to citizen groups, more than 160 trees were cut down on the section intended for road construction near the Princess Street viaduct. The promenade was opened to citizens, but the lack of compensatory tree planting dismayed citizens.

On Thursday, civic activist Zoru Bathena wrote to the municipal commissioner expressing shock that the road had been restored without replanting a tree.

Atul Kumar, president of Nariman Point Churchgate Residents’ Association, said they would write to the municipal commissioner and Mumbai Coastal Road. “The trees were planted by the MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority). They grew beautifully. They gave plenty of shade,” Kumar said. “Fortunately, we had documented the trees and we can tell exactly where the trees and their species were.”

The cut trees belonged to species such as Barringtonia Racemosa or Samudraful, a tree that thrives by the sea, two types of ficus, Bhendi (Thespesia Populnes) and Karanj (Pongamia Pinnata).

A senior engineer of Mumbai Coastal Road denied the presence of 160 trees at the site. “There are 31 which have been cut down and compensatory plantation in the ratio of 1:3 has already been done at Bhandup water treatment plant,” the official said.

However, Bathena, who is one of the petitioners in the 2017 petition filed in the Bombay High Court against felling of trees for the underground metro, said the BMC plan shows that there were 163 trees . “Saying that I have planted trees in Bhandup and will not plant them here is stupid. No one will be able to visit Bhandup and check if the trees have been planted,” Bathena said.

Bathena said the Tree Act requires the BMC to plant trees at intervals of 10 meters on roads and hedges on medians. “The entire coastal road is intended to increase the green cover of the city. The BMC’s promotional video for the coastal road shows trees on both sides,” Bathena added.

Published on: Thursday, June 20, 2024, 9:01 p.m. IST