Mumbai:Amid the drop in Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai, Congress has asked the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government to put an end to the felling of trees in the city.
The hacking of trees must stop, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee President Prof Varsha Gaikwad said.
She has shot off a letter to the Chief Minister, who is in-charge of the crucial Urban Development ministry, which oversees the functioning of cities.
“The model implemented by the government is not of development but of destruction,” she said.
“The Borivali-Thane twin tunnel is Chief Minister’s pet project and he is tampering with the environment to realise his demonic ambitions. While Mumbaikars are already gasping for fresh air, the Shinde-led government is hacking trees in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park which is the lung of the city,” said Prof Gaikwad.
“Notably, 122 trees will be slaughtered for the twin tunnel project. More than 150 trees are scheduled to be cut for the sewage disposal project in Bandra. Moreover, the air quality level in Mumbai has deteriorated drastically over the last few months. At present, Mumbai’s air is currently more polluted than Delhi’s which is further leading to thousands of Mumbaikars suffering from respiratory disorders,” she said.
“Mumbai’s decline in air quality is unfortunate and instead of taking preventive measures, the government is killing around 300 trees. This is the result of the government’s destructive policies,” Gaikwad said.
Gaikwad added that countless trees are being slaughtered in the name of rampant urbanisation. She said, “It is important to maintain nature’s equilibrium while doing development work. But unfortunately, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government has nothing to do with that. How can development be done by killing trees? This shows the focus of the government.”
(Published 24 October 2023, 03:56 IST)