Between the Bombay High Court order of October 4 and the Supreme Court's directive on Monday morning to maintain status quo, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation cleared 2,141 trees at the Metro-3 car depot site inside Aarey Colony.
"Following the decision of the [Bombay] High Court on October 4 upholding the permission of the Tree Authority, the felling of 2,185 trees was undertaken on October 4 and 5. As on date, 2,141 trees have been felled. These will be cleared from the site and subsequent construction activities will be carried out," said an MMRC spokesperson.
Metro authorities said they respect the SC order. "No future tree felling activity at the carshed site in Aarey Milk Colony will be undertaken. Other works, including clearing of already felled trees, will continue at the site," added the spokesperson.
MMRC says it has so far planted 23,846 trees and distributed 25,000 saplings as part of its green initiatives. The work on the project has already been delayed by over 6 months due to legal wrangles.
