SC Panel Suggests Relief By Paying Afforestation Dues

MUMBAI: Exactly 46 trees have simple vanished along Nepean Sea Road in the last three years.

A 2006 BMC plan for Nepean Sea Road showed 235 trees on the stretch of road between Mukesh Chowk and Embassy apartment. The BMC, which is currently in the process of widening this stretch, has accounted for only 189 trees. The 2006 plan shows the detailed location of the trees along the road.

MUMBAI: The HC has ordered the BMC to look at the alternate plan offered by Nepean Sea Road residents to save trees from being cut during the road widening. The order came after the residents filed a PIL on Friday.

MUMBAI: Prominent environmental groups in the city will meet on Thursday to protest against the redevelopment plan for Jijamata Udyan, which they say will destroy the zoo's heritage botanical garden. The masterplan for the redevelopment of the Byculla Zoo is currently awaiting the approval of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC).

NAVI MUMBAI: A large patch of lush mangroves adjacent to the railway tracks near Vashi station has been chopped indiscriminately. No official complaint has been lodged yet, but the hacked mangroves make for a jarring sight amid the healthy ones, claim commuters.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday allowed the BMC to go ahead with its plans to set up sewage treatment plants and lay pipelines on coastal areas in the city, which house mangroves. A division bench of Justices J N Patel and Vijaya Kapse-Tahilramani asked the municipal corporation to ensure "minimal intervention'' so that mangroves are cut only if absolutely necessary.

MUMBAI: If you are a fish-eater, it might be a good idea to check if your catch comes from Versova. Mackerel and pomfret from Versova docks were found to be laced with unusually high quantities of mercury when fish from four Mumbai docks were tested by a local environmental medicine institute. Fish from other docks in the city have, however, been declared "safe'' to eat.

MUMBAI: A day after a Supreme Court order stating that it will not interfere with the judgments passed by the Bombay High Court regarding encroachments in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), forest authorities are drawing up plans to remove encroachments from within the 104-sq km park. The HC had earlier directed phase-wise removal of encroachments from the park.

NAVI MUMBAI: Following complaints from the tehsildars of Thane (Krishna Jadhav) and Panvel (Dattatray Kedare), the NRI police has booked several Navi Mumbai-based developers for allegedly destroying mangroves along the Palm Beach Road near Seawoods.

MUMBAI: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it will not interfere with the judgments passed by the Bombay high court on the removal of illegal encroachments in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

The apex court did not grant any stay on the demolitions but allowed the slumdwellers to approach the statutory authority with their grievances.