trees

Shri Eknath Shinde - Hon Chief Minister MaharashtraGovernment of Maharashtra Dear Sir, We would like to bring to your attention the illegal practice of tree cutting, tree trimming happening in Pimpri Chinchwad since many years. Such instances have been reported by various citizens and NGOs to PCMC on a regular basis but there has been no substantive action till date and the illegal practice continues unabated with officials and contractors turning a blinds eye to the complaints by citizens. The Indian Constitution Article 51-A (g), says that “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. As per Environment Protection Act 1986 it is the obligation of the state to provide a healthy environment to the citizens and redress injuries to trees. The Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 Section 2(c) recognises that any act of burning,cutting or damaging tree as tree cutting and therefore trimming,pruning of tree which involves cutting of branches or part of tree or any act injurious to tree as tree felling.  As custodian of the law ,the Tree Authority of PCMC is required to file a FIR against the culprits for illegal tree trimming,cutting. For any kind of such harm caused to the trees "The Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 " stipulates punishment on conviction with a fine of not less than Rs 1,000 which may extend up to Rs 5,000 for every offence and also with imprisonment for a term of not less than one week which may extend up to one year.  Despite multiple meetings by citizens and NGOs with all concerned officials in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation the practice of illegal trimming and cutting of trees continues. We citizens of Pimpri Chinchwad therefore appeal to you as our Hon Minister of Environment and Climate Change to intervene in this matter and order a state government led enquiry into the illegal tree trimming,tree cutting,investigate the role of officials,contractors and take most severe action against those responsible for violations of the law. Thanking you, Mission Save Trees Maharashtra - Pimpri Chinchwad Chapter 

Shri Eknath ShindeHon Chief Minister of MaharashtraMinister - Environment & Climate ChangeGovernment of MaharashtraMantralaya, Mumbai - 400032 Dear Sir, We are concerned citizens of Pune who have been actively working to preserve and protect our environment. The Indian Constitution Article 51-A (g) says that “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. As per Environment Protection Act 1986 it is the obligation of the state to provide a healthy environment to the citizens.  It is therefore highly objectionable that the Pune Municipal Corporation in March 2023 should propose to cut thousands of full-grown age-old native trees in the riparian forests of the Mula Mutha river which is an integral part of the rich cultural, historical, and natural heritage of Pune. The Mula, Mutha, and Mula-Mutha rivers of Pune are blessed with dense riparian forests on both banks. Therefore, such a proposal to cut or transplant trees from riparian zones will negatively impact the delicate biodiversity, and ecology and result in the destruction of the natural habitat of aquatic life, birds, animals, and reptiles, many of which are protected species. We, therefore, seek your immediate intervention to prevent this large-scale destruction of our environment and pass requisite orders to PMC to immediately scrap this destructive proposal. Thanking you, Save Trees of Pune.   

When I declared victory on my last petition, I was certain that we had saved 808 acres of the Aarey Forest as former Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray fulfilled his promise of shifting metro car shed out of Aarey and declaring it as reserved forest within just a year of commencing his office. That, however, is not the case any more, as within hours of swearing in, the new Maharashtra government has overturned the decision and directed the urban development department officials to bring a proposal for building the car shed at Aarey before the Cabinet. This only means that we need to sign and share this petition once again and continue our battle to save our Aarey forest. This petition is not against the Metro. The purpose of this petition is to stop metro car shed from being built inside Aarey forest and thereby save the only surviving green lungs of Mumbai. There are more options available which are technically feasible as endorsed by experts, environmental friendly, and more cost effective than building a car shed inside the forest. Instead of groundless arguments defending the decision to make car shed in a forest, the newly appointed government should honour the demands of citizens of Mumbai of clean & green city. I hope you will stand with us, raise your voice, and sign and share this petition!  _________ Mumbai, the city of dreams in India , while blessed with wealth is very poor in one aspect, Open spaces. The only relief this densely packed city has are, Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Aarey Forest. These lush green oases in a sea of grey, not only tackle pollution and floods but also help bring down temperatures. But unfortunately Mumbai stands to lose this forest due to various upcoming projects. The first of these, which will open up this green lung to commercialization, is a car shed for the upcoming Mumbai Metro 3, which is being funded by the Japanese company, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with 57% of the project cost , which is about  2,036 Million $. A car shed is nothing but a parking lot and service area for metro trains. JICA In this day and age when the world is struggling with the devastating consequences of climate change, destroying a critical green lung for a parking lot is irresponsible. 3500 trees are set to be cut and we want the government to rethink the location of the car shed. There are many viable options, mentioned in their own studies, which have no environmental destruction involved. Experts from NEERI and IIT (Reputed organizations in India) have suggested 7 other alternate sites as  options. They have clearly warned of the consequences Mumbai will face in terms of flooding and loss of open space & wildlife, if the depot is built in Aarey forest. Government records show that Aarey is an integral part of Sanjay gandhi National Park and thus protected under forest laws. It has over 5 Lakh trees, it is home to 9 resident leopards and has a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. Even today, original adivasis (indigenous inhabitants of this area) live in 27 tribal hamlets in Aarey. It offers a unique experience for urban dwellers to experience nature at it's best. “In the name of development, only tribals suffer” said one of the leaders. The Save Aarey campaign has been requesting the government to relocate the carshed to an alternative location. Relocation will not affect the metro 3 alignment in any way. Common citizens from all walks of life, professionals, students, school children, celebrities have  supported this issue. Inspite of all this the state government is insistent on building the depot in Aarey. And to support this, they have given wrong information to JICA. The Mumbai Metro rail corporation Ltd.(MMRCL) has told JICA that the project site is located in city area and no wildlife is envisaged, while in reality, Aarey is a forest area , housing 76 species of birds, 80 species of butterflies , 16 species of mammals, 38 species of reptiles and 9 leopards, besides 0.4 million trees. By signing this petition, you are asking JICA to review the funding given to the project. According to JICA's environmental and social considerations, it should comment on the issue and By shifting the depot out of Aarey, Mumbai will not only get a metro but also retain its green, open space. And we are sure in consideration of its policies, JICA will also help in putting an end to further loss of land in Aarey to various other big and small projects. Help #UniteToSaveAarey

The BMC has planned to push for underground parking facilities under the decades old public parks namely Pushpa Narsee Park in Juhu and Patwardhan Park in Bandra. This is being done under a current provision in the city's Development Control Regulations.  Parks are the few remaining open spaces in Mumbai which has one of the poorest open spaces per capita ratios anywhere in the world. These parks serve a multitude of functions - they act as large sponges for rainwater amidst increasing impervious and concrete developments thereby mitigating further flooding risks, they help reduce the CO2 in the air amidst the rapidly declining air quality and they help mitigate the compounding urban heat island effects thereby forming an oasis for people in dense neighbourhoods .  Creating an impervious concrete slab for an underground parking lot would require the century old rain trees to be cut and compromises the park's ability to perform any of the above functions - thereby rendering it useless. These proposals will pave the way for similar developments under all the parks in our city - which would be disastrous to say the least. We need to act NOW.