The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday said it is not stopping the Metro shed project in Mumbai's Aarey Colony and only putting a stay on the felling of trees.

A special bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta examined the entire episode and sought a status report with pictures on plantation, transplantation, and felling of trees in the Aarey Colony area of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared on behalf of BMC, assured the bench that no further cutting of trees has taken place in Aarey colony and added that complete status quo is being maintained following the apex court's last order.

The above SC order can keep some control over MMRCL who has notoriously chopped down one tree per minute in the darkness of the nights with ostentatious cowardice. The government did not even wait for the Supreme Court order and in just 40 hours butchered 2,141 trees, though this officially claimed figure needs to be verified. It may be noted that the MMRC has already issued a press statement saying that it has done away with a majority of trees at the car depot site. Environmentalist and Aarey Conservation Group member, Stalin D from the NGO Vanashakti, posted a video on Facebook claiming that the MMRC's claims are misleading and that there are hundreds of trees still standing. City-based nature lovers and green activists have been demanding access for citizens to the car shed site.

An NGO, Empower Foundation, has written to the chief wildlife warden, Maharashtra Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam and Superintendent and BMC's Standing Committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav demanding an urgent site visit of the proposed Metro car shed in Aarey where trees were felled. Citing the fact that the cutting of trees directly lead to the habitat of wildlife species being destroyed, some of which are a part of Schedule I and are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List, Sheetal Mehta, Secretary, Empower Foundation, wrote, "We propose a joint site visit including government officials not limited to the Department of Forests (whose primary responsibility is to protect wildlife and its habitat), reputed ecologists, Tree Authority members and a wildlife conservation organisation like ours so that we can save and conserve wildlife in a region which might have been impacted by the cutting of trees. It's not just about trees, but about 290 wildlife species and their habitat and five of which are on IUCN's Red List, including nine leopards who are inhabitants of the Aarey Forest."

Maharashtra Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that while participating in a television show, "Man vs Wild" recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recalled how his uncle desperately wanted to start a business in wood, but his grandmother opposed it saying trees also have life. "The PM said his entire family is for preserving environment. Regrettably, these words sound very hollow as his own Bharatiya Janata Party government has felled thousands of trees in the dark of night," Sawant told IANS.

Nationalist Congress Party's National Spokesperson Jitendra Awhad wondered "Was this to ensure that the October 21 assembly elections could be conducted peacefully? This 'mass-murder' of trees and all the living beings it supported will curse the government.”

Even ruling ally Shiv Sena has opposed the tree-cutting with party President Uddhav Thackeray vowing to deal with the matter in the best possible manner after the next government would come to power.

"A project that should be executed with pride, the Metro-3, has to do it in the cover of the night, with shame, slyness and heavy cop cover. The project supported to get Mumbai clean air, is hacking down a forest with a leopard, rusty spotted cat and more," Aditya Thackeray tweeted.

Unfortunately, hundreds of words exchanged against cutting of the trees couldn’t prevent hundreds of trees from being massacred. Aarey forest didn’t even find mention in the electoral manifesto of leading ruling and opposition parties.

Aarey forest nurturing 2 rivers (Oshiwara river & Mithi river), 270 species of wildlife, hundreds of indigenous trees and tribal communities doesn’t require shallow words but conscientious action of citizens to protect its pristine existence.

The matter will again be heard in court on November 15.