Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Friday said a batch of special leave petitions (SLP) concerning Aarey Colony and permissions granted on it, including the denotification of 33 hectares for the Metro car shed, requires to be heard at some length and posted the hearing for March.
The special leave petitions, including those filed by NGO Vanashakti and Stalin Dayanand, tree activist Zoru Bhathena, and Amrita Bhattacharjee, focused on and sought the intervention of the top court to protect the green cover in Aarey.
Vanashakti’s advocate Zaman Ali apprised the SC bench of Justices A S Oka and A G Masih that the focus has to shift from the Metro car shed to the rest of Aarey. He submitted that there were multiple projects “that threaten Aarey and the area outside the car shed was open” to be used up similarly too.
The bench inquired from the Maharashtra govt if it plans to cut more trees in the Aarey region. The SC asked the state to submit a list of proposals that were under consideration and slated to come up on Aarey. The list has to be submitted by Jan 10, 2025.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the state govt, sought time to seek instructions with regard to the same. Adv Prerna Priyadarshini, appearing for Bhattacharjee, pointed to a status quo order of the apex court of 2019.
The plea by Vanashakti says it is concerned with the ” rampant illegal tree cutting and outbreaks of forest fire inside the forests of Aarey colony,” which is spread across 1,280 hectare, as well as in the notified eco-sensitive zone around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
All the activists said tree cuttings were on despite SC orders dated 07.10.2019 and 21.10.2019 in the suo motu writ petition of 2019.
The NGO’s SLP challenged the final judgment dated 04.10.2019 of the Bombay high court and sought “a declaration that the entire Aarey Colony is a Reserved Forest or a “Protected Forest” under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Aarey Milk Colony is the green lung of the city, they said.
The apex court posted the Aarey matters for hearing on March 5.
With inpits from Clara Lewis
Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Friday said a batch of special leave petitions (SLP) concerning Aarey Colony and permissions granted on it, including the denotification of 33 hectares for the Metro car shed, requires to be heard at some length and posted the hearing for March.
The special leave petitions, including those filed by NGO Vanashakti and Stalin Dayanand, tree activist Zoru Bhathena, and Amrita Bhattacharjee, focused on and sought the intervention of the top court to protect the green cover in Aarey.
Vanashakti’s advocate Zaman Ali apprised the SC bench of Justices A S Oka and A G Masih that the focus has to shift from the Metro car shed to the rest of Aarey. He submitted that there were multiple projects “that threaten Aarey and the area outside the car shed was open” to be used up similarly too.
The bench inquired from the Maharashtra govt if it plans to cut more trees in the Aarey region. The SC asked the state to submit a list of proposals that were under consideration and slated to come up on Aarey. The list has to be submitted by Jan 10, 2025.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the state govt, sought time to seek instructions with regard to the same. Adv Prerna Priyadarshini, appearing for Bhattacharjee, pointed to a status quo order of the apex court of 2019.
The plea by Vanashakti says it is concerned with the ” rampant illegal tree cutting and outbreaks of forest fire inside the forests of Aarey colony,” which is spread across 1,280 hectare, as well as in the notified eco-sensitive zone around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
All the activists said tree cuttings were on despite SC orders dated 07.10.2019 and 21.10.2019 in the suo motu writ petition of 2019.
The NGO’s SLP challenged the final judgment dated 04.10.2019 of the Bombay high court and sought “a declaration that the entire Aarey Colony is a Reserved Forest or a “Protected Forest” under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Aarey Milk Colony is the green lung of the city, they said.
The apex court posted the Aarey matters for hearing on March 5.
With inpits from Clara Lewis
