GMLR project: SC asks BMC to find 24 acres of land for afforestation

Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC to identify an alternate 24 acres of land in Mumbai or nearby areas for compensatory afforestation following the felling of 1039 trees for the second phase of the GoregaonMulund Link Road GMLR project reported the PTIOn November 17 2025 the apex court had instructed the BMCrsquos Tree Authority to allow the urgent felling of the trees while directing the civic body to ldquoscrupulouslyrdquo carry out compensatory afforestation within eight weeksAs per the PTI during Thursdayrsquos hearing the BMC and other authorities told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that only three acres of the 275 acres identified inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park could be used for afforestationBMC seeks extra time to locate 24 acres for afforestationThe civic body requested an extension to identify the remaining 24 acres potentially near PanvelThe court directed the BMC commissioner to file an affidavit within two weeks specifying the land and its exact location for the compensatory afforestation It also asked the civic body to submit a schedule for completing the land identification and afforestation exercise according to the PTINext hearing scheduled for April 8 to review progressFurther the bench ordered the BMC to file a second affidavit by March 31 and a third by May 22 detailing progress along with videos documenting the steps taken The Chief Justice warned that any official found violating the directions would face heavy penalties recoverable from the errant officers alone The matter is scheduled for further consideration on April 8For context the Supreme Court had earlier allowed the felling of 95 trees for the first phase of the GMLR project in Mumbairsquos Film City Permission for the 1039 trees in the second phase was granted with the condition that compensatory afforestation be carried out meticulouslySupreme Court flags poor implementation of afforestation in MumbaiAs per PTI the top court had previously expressed concern over poor implementation of afforestation in Mumbai and warned the Maharashtra government that it could revoke permissions for tree felling in projects like the Mumbai Metro Rail and GMLR if compensatory measures were ignoredIt had directed the state Chief Secretary to hold a meeting with all stakeholders and submit a ldquoconcrete proposalrdquo ensuring afforestation is executed properly The Chief Secretary and BMC later assured the court that compensatory afforestation would be undertaken diligently including within Sanjay Gandhi National ParkThe GMLR project aims to connect the Western Express Highway with the Eastern Express Highway potentially reducing travel time between Mulund and Goregaon by almost an hourThe BMCrsquos plea comes after the Supreme Courtrsquos January 10 order prohibiting any further tree felling in Aarey Colony without court permission The earlier order was related to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limitedrsquos car shade projectThe apex court had also asked the Maharashtra government to report any proposals to fell more trees in Aarey and noted that some forestdwelling communities had moved the Bombay High Court in 2023 over treefelling concerns for the metro rail projectWith PTI inputs