There are environmentalists and then there is the environmentalists’ cabal. The noble idea has been hijacked by activists focused on increasing their social media reach. For quite some time, it felt like Aarey shed construction won’t be completed due to these environmental nazis, but thankfully Supreme Court has crushed the cabal.
Apex Court refuses to put a stay on Aarey
The Apex Court of India has refused to put any halt on the construction of the metro shed for 3 lines of Mumbai metro. The decision was based on a submission by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) that no tree had been cut after the Supreme Court passed a status quo order in 2019.
In 2019, the highest Court of the land passed an order to not cut any trees for the project. But, as soon as whispers of Maharashtra politics shifting out of the hand of the MVA government started to make rounds, activists automatically assumed that the new government would start cutting trees. Being well connected in power circles of the country, they had no problem in approaching the Supreme Court with the plea. They even alleged that trees are being cut by MMRCL.
Inaccurate evidence submitted in Court
In the Court, MMRCL was represented by Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India. Mehta explicitly told Court that authorities were busy removing bushes, shrubs and weeds which had grown in the area. The Solicitor General also told the Court that the evidence produced by appellants was false as they had shown photographs of different areas.
“Only weeds and bushes on the ground were cleared. There is an approach road, there were branches that required trimming for vehicles to pass through, and trimming took place. No trees were cut. They have shown photographs of some other areas”, submitted Mehta. “If public interest litigants make inaccurate statements, it will leave a bad taste” added Solicitor General
The Bench comprising upcoming Chief Justice UU Lalit, Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aniruddha Bose accepted Mehta’s submission. Its order noted, “No specific interim directions are called for in view of the stand taken in the recent affidavit by an on behalf of the respondent(MMRCL). Suffice it to say that as stated by the concerned respondent, no trees have been cut since the order dated November 7, 2019 and shall not be cut till the next date of hearing”,
Highly political project
The development of Mumbai metro has become politicised since former Fadnavis government decided to increase the facility for Mumbaikars. The opposition to the construction of a metro car shed was witnessed in 2019 too. The opposition against Aarey had unveiled the hypocrisy of many Bollywood celebrities and politicians. They were emboldened by the shutdown of the Sterlite Copper plant due to protests by the environmental lobby.
Read more: Rupees 89,992,20,00000: What Sterlite Copper Plant shutdown has cost India in 3 years
Be it, Shiv Sena, the Congress party, Bollywood and fake environmentalists, everyone joined the bandwagon to oppose the decision to construct a metro shed at Aarey. Earlier in 2019, the Supreme Court rejected all the malicious campaigns against the project and allowed the cutting of 2,700 trees stating that the benefits of the project outweighed the cost of cutting down the trees.
Read more: Aap Chronology Samajhiye – Aarey is just not a Sanyog, but a successful Sterlite model
But, when Uddhav Thackeray came to power, he decided to kowtow to the lobby and shut down the project. But, as soon as Eknath Shinde took charge, the project was again kicked off, paving the way for developmental agendas. The Supreme Court’s recent green signal to the project has added another layer of legitimacy to it.
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