Overview
- The BMC Tree Authority on May 29 approved proposals to fell and/or transplant more than 2,200 trees for the Versova–Dahisar corridor and around 1,900 trees for the Versova–Bhayandar (Coastal Road North) alignment, clearing a major administrative hurdle for on‑ground work.
- Officials say the northern corridor work has begun on site and some surface‑level mangrove cutting is already under way, even as remaining tree proposals return to the authority for further clearance.
- As mitigation, the BMC has proposed transplanting about 1,288 trees and planting roughly 19,500 trees in Panvel plus wider plans to plant about 60,000 trees on reclaimed Coastal Road South land under a Reliance Foundation programme.
- Opposition politicians, members of the Tree Authority and environmental groups challenge the measures by citing low survival rates for transplanted and off‑site trees and arguing that plantations outside Mumbai cannot replace lost mature urban canopy or local mangrove functions.
- The Coastal Road South reclamation created roughly 111 hectares of land set aside for parks, nurseries and urban forests, and officials say landscaping there will be completed in about 24 months while northern construction advances and ecological disputes continue.