Aarey forest matter: SC extends interim order banning further tree felling

The Supreme Court on Monday extended its interim order that had stayed the felling of trees in Mumbai's Aarey Colony area for setting up of a metro car shed.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta, which said it would hear the matter in January next year, said the October 7 interim order would continue in the meanwhile.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for one of the petitioners, told the bench that the new government in Maharashtra has said it is looking for an alternative place to set up the metro car shed.

The bench, however, said, "We are not to be guided by these things".

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the state government has to file a reply on whether the Aarey colony is forest land or not.

"You take instructions and place it on record," the bench said.

When one of the lawyers told the bench that the apex court had earlier asked the authorities to submit a report on the number of trees cut, afforestation and trans-plantation being carried out in lieu of felling of trees at Aarey colony, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said, "We have filed everything".

On October 21, the top court had clarified that there is no stay on construction of the Mumbai Metro car shed at Aarey Colony and the status quo order is only applicable on felling of trees there.

The civic body had assured the top court that no further felling of trees would be done in Aarey colony area and complete status quo would be maintained following the apex court's order.

The bench had asked Mumbai Metro to submit pictures of afforestation, transplantation, measurement of girth and height of trees planted, and tree felling done in the area.

Mumbai Metro had claimed that they have transplanted over 5,000 trees and assured the court that absolute status quo was being maintained with regard to felling of trees in the area, being opposed by green activists and local residents.

The petitioners had earlier told the bench that Aarey forest was deemed as an "unclassified forest" by the state government and felling of trees was illegal.

However, after perusing the notification issued by the Maharashtra government, the bench had said the Aarey area is a no development zone and not an eco-sensitive zone as claimed by the petitioner.

The apex court had decided to register as PIL a letter addressed to then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi by law student Rishav Ranjan seeking a stay on the cutting of trees.

The Bombay High Court had on October 4 refused to declare Aarey Colony a forest and declined to quash the Mumbai municipal corporation's decision to allow felling of over 2,600 trees in the green zone to set up a metro car shed.

The Aarey forest is located adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and has five lakh trees, the law student had said in his letter.

The trees were proposed to be cut for the Mumbai Metro-3 project and specifically for construction of a car shed, it said, adding that the high court had refused to recognise Aarey as a forest or declare it as an ecologically sensitive issue because of jurisdictional limits.