Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday withdrew an amendment bill proposing a multi-fold hike in penalty for illegal felling of trees and not recognising cutting of branches as an offence.
The bill to amend the Maharashtra Felling of Trees (Regulation) Act of 1964, proposed to increase the penalty for illegal felling of trees from Rs 1,000 to Rs 50,000. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the legislative assembly that he was under the impression that the amendments would have been implemented in urban areas. Fadnavis said he was apprised of updated information regarding redefining urban areas by including Nagar Panchayats and new townships. He said rural areas were also covered in the ambit of the bill.
“Since we want to reassess the impact on rural areas, we are withdrawing the amendment bill,” he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said trees are cut in rural areas with the objective of growing more trees, and it’s also a source of income for the rural population. Jadhav and Shekhar Nikam (NCP) demanded that rural areas be excluded from the ambit of the amendment bill.
Meanwhile, the Assembly passed a bill to increase the number of trustees of Siddhivinayak Temple Trust in Mumbai from 9 to 15. It also extended the tenure of the trust’s chairman and vice chairman to five years. PTI
