Latest news with #GMLR
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
SC nod for removing 95 trees at Aarey for GMLR tunnelling work
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the decks for tunnelling work to begin as part of the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, including allowing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to remove 95 trees from the protected Aarey forest, which serves as a green lung for Mumbai. Mumbai, India. Sep 28, 2024: General view of Aarey forest, also known as Aarey Colony, one of the few remaining green spaces in Mumbai. Mumbai India. Sep 28, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde/Hindustan Times) A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order after it was informed that the Maharashtra State Tree Authority has directed the BMC to undertake compensatory afforestation of 1,344 trees to make up for the 70 trees to be felled and 25 to be translocated due to the infrastructure project. In addition, the BMC submitted expert studies showing that the present road alignment of the GMLR project involved the least felling of trees. While approving the compensatory afforestation plan, the bench further directed the BMC to ensure geotagging of the trees to be planted. It also sought a report from the Mumbai Conservator of Forests on the status of trees planted as part of compensatory afforestation measures undertaken in the past. The matter has been posted for hearing after six weeks. On July 29, the top court had permitted the project to go ahead but restrained the BMC from carrying out tree felling until it reviews an alternate possible alignment and the compensatory afforestation plan. Advocate Dhruv Mehta, appearing for the BMC, presented detailed reports of experts from IIT Bombay, among others, suggesting that the present alignment will entail cutting down 1,134 trees, which will cause the least damage to the environment and local ecosystem. The BMC had to approach the Supreme Court in view of its January 2025 order, which prohibits the tree authority from processing any request for felling of trees in the Aarey forest region. As part of the first phase of the project, 95 trees are required to be cut or translocated for the construction of a 6.62-kilometre-long underground tunnel road. These trees, according to BMC, are situated at Film City, a region close to the Aarey forest belt. The chopping of trees was required to make space for the heavy tunnel boring machine. Permitting the tree authority to fell 70 trees and transplant 25 others, the bench said, 'We are satisfied that the project proponent has come to the conclusion that no other route alternative other than this route is based on expert opinion.' The court also heard individuals and organisations opposing any further felling of trees in Aarey forest and considered their objections. Advocates Pooja Dhar and Srishti Agnihotri told the court that the top court had, in October 2019 and April 2023, directed the state government to provide the status of the trees planted while undertaking development works requiring chopping or translocation of Aarey forest trees. Further, it was pointed out that under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection & Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, the state is required to carry out geotagging of trees and afforestation by planting trees of suitable species. The court ordered the state to strictly adhere to all statutory requirements and directed the Conservator of Forests, Mumbai, to prepare a report on the status of plantation carried out under compensatory afforestation. On an earlier date, the court had stressed the need for development works to be undertaken. 'We are all for protecting the environment, but sustainable development is also necessary. We have to be also concerned about the millions of citizens who will benefit from this,' it had said. The Goregaon-Mulund Link Road is expected to connect the Eastern Express Highway and the Western Express Highway, and reduce travel time between Goregaon and Mulund by over one hour.
Indian Express
04-08-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Mumbai Coastal Road: BMC to rope in civil engineers from multiple departments to meet manpower demand
With civil work for Mumbai Coastal Road's second phase set to begin from September first week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed roping in hundreds of civil engineers from its multiple departments, as 200-plus civil engineers will be required for the project's supervision. 'To ensure the project is executed seamlessly, we will be deploying civic officials with civil engineering degrees from various departments, including roads, sewerage, and water supply. These officials will be responsible for supervising the contractors and the day-to-day progress of the job, along with other technicalities,' said a senior BMC official. The BMC administration has thus mooted the deployment of nearly 200 additional officers to the bridges department, a proposal that is currently awaiting clearance from the municipal commissioner. Officials said the bridges department does not have adequate manpower for all the projects it is executing. 'At present, there are several other key projects of the bridges department that are ongoing, including Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR). Besides this, there are several other projects of new bridge construction and maintenance of existing facilities that are in the pipeline. We will need manpower for this also. So we have to bank on other departments for manpower,' an official said. The first phase of Mumbai Coastal Road, which connects Marine Drive with the Bandra Worli Sea Link, was inaugurated last year. For the construction and maintenance of this 10-km-long phase, civic authorities had constituted a dedicated department. However, the BMC's bridges department is executing the second phase. Asked why the dedicated department, set up under the supervision of a chief engineer, was not assigned the task of executing the second phase, an official said, 'The department is responsible for the maintenance of the ready phase, and ancillary work like setting up open spaces and creating walkways also remains. Therefore, there will be extra pressure on that department.' Phase two of the coastal road will have a series of underground tunnels, a cable-stayed bridge, and vehicular interchanges that will improve north-south connectivity. BMC officials said the civil work for the coastal road would begin by September first week. This includes the mobilisation of machinery as well as setting up casting yards. The boring of twin tunnels that will connect Mindspace at Malad with Charkop is set to begin from early 2027, and the tunnel boring machine is set to arrive early next year, according to the officials. The proposed second phase of the coastal road has been divided into six different packages. Package A will cover the 4.5 km between Versova and Bangur Nagar (Goregaon), and package B will cover the 1.66 km between Bangur Nagar and Mindspace. The packages C and D will include twin tunnels—3.9 km long—connecting Mindspace with Charkop in Kandivali. Package E will be 3.78 km long, connecting Charkop with Gorai, and package F will cover the 3.69 km between Gorai and Dahisar. From Dahisar, the civic authorities are constructing an elevated corridor of 5.6 km that will extend till Bhayander in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The coastal road will also provide connectivity with GMLR, an east-west connector being constructed by the Mumbai civic body. The cost of these two phases, covering 20 km in total, has been pegged at Rs 20,000 crore. The BMC secured environmental clearances for the project last year and started the on-ground work this year.
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Tunnel Boring Machine parts have reached Mumbai; need final nod to axe 95 trees at Film City's launching shaft site for Goregaon-Mulund Link Road project, urges BMC
Mumbai: A day after Supreme Court gave in-principle clearance for cutting 95 trees in Goregaon's Film City to take tunnel boring machines underground to carve out 6.6km twin tunnels for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, BMC said there's an urgent need for formal tree removal permission to start excavation work at the launching shaft site. Any delay in securing the tree removal nod could lead to financial setbacks for the civic body, said officials. Nearly 90% of the components of the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to be used in the Rs 6,551-crore project have arrived from Japan and are currently stacked along Film City Road, around 1km from the launching shaft site, said civic officials. "We need to start work on the launching shaft — a pit structure measuring about 200m long, 50m wide, and 35m deep — through which the TBMs are to be lowered and placed for digging the tunnels. For digging the pit structure, we have to clear the ground, and hence the 95 trees have to be felled," said an official from BMC's bridges department. These 95 trees are among the 1,094 that are to be axed for the entire project. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai "The initial tunnelling work includes the construction of a box tunnel and a ramp section, extending 1.3km with a cross-section of 12mx11.2m, directly adjoining the launching shaft. Any delays in securing clearance for tree removal could lead to financial setbacks for the civic body, as the construction contract includes a 'No Limit' clause allowing for cost escalation in the event of delays," the official added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo Supreme Court will hear the matter next week. To improve east-west road connectivity in the city, BMC developed Santacruz-Chembur, Andheri-Ghatkopar, and Jogeshwari-Vikhroli link roads. However, over time, these link roads started facing heavy traffic congestion, especially during peak hours. This prompted the need for another east-west corridor, resulting in the approval of the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road under the Development Control and Promotion Regulation Plan, 2034. BMC floated tenders for the GMLR project in Oct 2022, which includes twin tunnels of 4.7km each and a box tunnel section in Film City, Goregaon.
Hindustan Times
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
SC allows felling of trees for road project near Aarey
Protection of environment is important, but development activities cannot be ignored, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday as it allowed the Bombay Municipal Corporation's (BMC) tree authority to fell 95 trees for a road construction project in Mumbai's Film City located near the Aarey forest belt. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai-led bench, however, warned that 'no trees shall be actually felled without permission of this court'. SC allows felling of trees for road project near Aarey The top court bench, also comprising justice K Vinod Chandran, was hearing a BMC plea that sought nod to fell 95 trees for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project in the Film City region, located close to the Aarey forest belt. The BMC filed the plea keeping in mind the January 10 order of the top court that prohibited its tree authority from felling any more trees in Mumbai's Aarey colony without its permission. Hearing the matter on Tuesday, the court underscored the need for protection of the environment, but stressed that sustainable development was equally necessary. 'No doubt protection of environment is important, at the same time necessity for carrying out development activities cannot be ignored... If a country has to progress, development of infrastructure is also necessary. Unless proper infrastructure is put in place, country cannot progress,' it said. While the bench allowed felling of trees in this case, it added: 'In carrying out the development least damage should be caused to the environment... We are inclined to permit the Tree Authority to proceed further with the request of the project proponent. We clarify that no trees shall be actually felled without permission of this court.' The authority, represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, said some 1,000 trees are to be cut as part of the road project, and initially only 95 have to be felled. When the bench asked whether any expert agency had examined the need for this exercise, Rohatgi cited an IIT-Bombay report. The bench then asked the BMC to file the report by August 8 alongside an afforestation plan. The matter has now been posted for August 12. The BMC's plea was opposed by activists, represented by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who flagged that nearly 4,000 trees have been chopped in Aarey forests without any plans for afforestation yet. The court then said, 'In a city like Mumbai, there will be 10 projects going on simultaneously. But can we object to the underpass road being constructed?' CJI Gavai, who is from Maharashtra, also cited the example of Atal Setu, saying that the project involved felling of several trees but has indeed made travelling across Mumbai easier and faster. 'We are all for protecting the environment but sustainable development is also necessary. We have to be also concerned about the millions of citizens who will benefit from this,' the bench remarked.
News18
29-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Mumbai road project: SC asks Tree Authority to consider tree felling plea of BMC
New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) Observing that a balance between environment protection and development is necessary, the Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted the Tree Authority to decide on a plea of the civic body BMC for felling 95 trees in Mumbai's Film City for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing a plea of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is responsible for the ambitious GMLR project, seeking the apex court's nod for felling the trees for the first phase. The GMLR project envisages developing road connectivity from Western Express Highway to Eastern Express Highway to reduce travel time by almost an hour between Mulund and Goregaon. The BMC says that these 95 trees are required to be cut for operating the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) and launching shaft work for the tunnelling work. For digging the pit structure, it is required to clear ground space and, in the process, a certain number of trees are required to be felled, the Tree Authority said in the application. The BMC filed the plea keeping in mind the January 10 order of the top court by which it had directed the Tree Authority of the civic body not to allow any further tree felling in Mumbai's Aarey colony without its permission. The civic body said that the area, where tree felling was proposed, falls under the Film City and not under Aarey Colony, and yet they filed the plea in the top court as part of abundant caution. 'No doubt, the protection of the environment is important and it has been held by this court in several judgements keeping in mind the principle of inter-generational equity," the CJI said. 'However, the development cannot be ignored … The development of infrastructure is also necessary. Unless proper infrastructure is put in place, the country cannot progress," the CJI said. The bench asked the BMC to file the report of the experts on the issue alongside the afforestation plan. The bench made clear that no tree can be felled without its prior nod and fixed the plea of the BMC for hearing on August 12. The trees to be felled are for the 6.2km twin tunnels, which are part of the 5.3km GMLR between Film City, Goregaon, and Khindipada (Amar Nagar), Mulund. 'The project involves development of a road through a tunnel to preserve the green space on the ground," the Tree Authority said while seeking permission to cut the trees. The top court's earlier order, asking the Tree Authority of the BMC not to allow any further tree felling in Mumbai's Aarey colony without its permission, was passed in connection with the car shade project of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL). The apex court had directed the Maharashtra government to inform if there was any proposal to fell more trees in Aarey forest. The court had in 2023 permitted some forest-dwelling communities to move the Bombay High Court with their grievances over the felling of trees in the forest for the metro rail project. PTI SJK SJK RT RT (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 29, 2025, 17:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
