A BMC official said, "While there are 1,524 trees that fall in the alignment, the project is likely to impact 695 that will need felling and 666 which will be required to be transplanted. There are also many trees which come only in the influence zone and may not impacted but as a precautionary measure we have still accounted for them."
Phase IV of the GMLR project, the section currently being constructed, will run from Nahur ROB over the existing Eastern Express Highway and towards Airoli.
On Thursday, the civic body invited objections and suggestions from citizens regarding the tree felling and transplantation proposal. Citizens have been given seven days from the publication of the public notice to submit their responses.
Officials told TOI that most of the trees likely to be affected are subabul trees. The proposal was submitted by the executive engineer of the BMC's GMLR bridge department. The public notice has been issued under Section 8(f) of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, as amended up to January 2025.
The proposed removal and transplantation of hundreds of trees has drawn concern from NGO Watchdog Foundation, which warned that the move could have irreversible consequences for Mumbai's environment and ecological balance.
"Development cannot come at the cost of destroying the very environment that sustains us. The loss of hundreds of trees will adversely affect biodiversity, air quality, urban temperatures, and the overall quality of life of Mumbaikars," the NGO said in a letter sent to the BMC.
Meanwhile, excavation work for the GMLR project's twin tunnels beneath Sanjay Gandhi National Park has progressed by 183 metres, with the BMC expecting the pace of construction to increase.
The second tunnel boring machine (TBM), named Vihar, has completed its site acceptance test, bringing it closer to commencing excavation work.
With the project targeting completion by February 2029, the proposed tree felling and transplantation plan has brought the environmental impact of the GMLR's ongoing construction into focus, even as work on its underground tunnels continues.
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