The Aarey Colony Issue

Author: Omkar Abhijit Thosar, a student at Advocate Balasaheb Apte College of Law (ABACL)

Abstract

Supreme Court’s direction to the state government to not cut any more trees in the Aarey colony is testament to the fact that the importance of the independence of the judiciary can never be undermined. Infrastructural development is inevitable given the ever-increasing population of Mumbai and it can be accepted as a necessary evil. However, if deforestation must be done for achieving such infrastructural development then alternatives for such construction or infrastructural development must be considered. If the alternatives presented by the appropriate authorities do not seem to be feasible, then such authorities must be directed to find out and present newer alternatives which are feasible but simply because the current alternatives are not feasible, deforestation should not be resorted to.


Introduction


Deforestation has been a long-standing issue and has been debated across media platforms for quite a while too. There’s always a tussle between infrastructural development and saving forests, it is seen that infrastructural development has been given preference more often than not and the staunch response to the criticism by environmental activists, social workers and media channels is that development is necessary and it is for the betterment of people so should the betterment of people not be prioritized?!
Betterment of people through infrastructural development is essential and there’s no doubt about that, but such betterment is achieved at what cost is the important question. Today, climate change is real and undeniable and its consequences can be clearly seen through unseasonal rains, extremely hot summers, to the extent that the heat becomes intolerable due to very high temperatures, winters are colder than ever with more smog (smoke + fog) than fog. These climatic consequences are the cost we need to bear for rapid infrastructural development which is achieved through deforestation. Since the cost that is incurred is intangible, its largely neglected and isn’t considered to be alarming.
Bushfires in Australia which had caused mass scale destruction a few years ago, recurring flash floods across the globe, severe droughts and other innumerable climatic disasters are primarily caused due to large scale deforestation which disrupts the balance of the ecosystem thereby resulting in such climatic disasters.

Proof


The characteristic feature of the democracy lies in the fact that the executive is accountable to the people because of whom it has been elected and the judiciary ensures that such accountability doesn’t become just a theoretical concept.
There have been numerous cases wherein the executive actions are questionable due to their adverse impact on the society as a whole and with the timely intervention of the judiciary, these actions of the executive have been restrained and thereby its adverse impacts negated.


The case herein which deals with the felling of trees in Aarey colony for building a metro car shed is a case of great significance as Aarey is the only substantial forest area left in the densely populated Mumbai. A forest area within a city serves an important purpose of maintaining the balance of ecosystem of the city due to which air quality remains in check, the adverse impact of pollution is reduced significantly and the overall well being of the residents of the city is ensured. Bangalore is the only city in India which has a significant amount of forest area within the geographical limits of the city and the forest cover has been increasing on a yearly basis albeit in a limited amount. The impact of this extensive forest area is that the climatic conditions in Bangalore have rarely been extreme and the residents are greatly benefited because of this.
As far as Aarey colony is concerned, large scale protests were carried out in order to save trees from being uprooted in the name of development but the state government was adamant about cutting trees stating that development was important. The tyrannical ambitions of the state government were strengthened by the Bombay High Court as it dismissed all the petitions against the cutting of trees in Aarey colony. When it seemed that there’s no stopping the state government from felling of trees in the Aarey colony, post 2019 elections the power wasn’t in its hands anymore and the incoming state government scrapped the idea of large-scale felling of trees in order to build the metro car shed and decided to construct such metro car shed elsewhere in the city. But as soon as the previous state government was again in power in 2022, the construction of metro car shed in Aarey colony was once again on their agenda. According the felling of trees began and the environmentalists expressed great concern and disappointment.


On August 5, 2022, during the hearing of the suo moto writ of 2019, the Supreme Court observed that no specific interim directions were issued since the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation had not cut off any more trees since the order dated 7 October 2019 and none be cut till the next date of hearing.


Post 2024 elections however, the construction of metro car shed in Aarey was still on the government’s agenda possibly due to unavailability of alternate area for such construction or due to it being infeasible to construct such car shed in the previously allotted area. Hence, the Supreme Court’s direction to the state government to not cut any tree in the concerned area of Aarey colony without its permission is of great importance as it restricts the state government to execute the construction of metro car shed and forces it to find a feasible alternative for such construction.


Keywords
Infrastructural Development, Climate Change, Deforestation


Conclusion


The Supreme Court has given many historic decisions with regards to the cases of environmental protection and these decisions have served as precedents for the years to follow. The executive authorities are bound to make some decisions or take some actions which may be agreed by some and criticized by others but when such proposed decisions or actions may result in environmental damage then the executive authorities must be restrained from taking such decisions or performing such actions.
The environmentalists or social activists along with like minded citizens may protest about such decisions or actions but such protests may be thwarted by the executive authorities either by use of force or by simply ignoring such protests and implementing those decisions or taking such actions which may result in environmental destruction. The usual justification of use of force by the executive authorities is that law and order of the region is in tatters due to these protests and hence such protests need to curtailed by use of force in order to reinstate the law and order in the region to normalcy. The protesters who are voicing real environmental concerns are thereby rendered toothless by the executive authorities and due to which they can take decisions as per their whims and fancies without being answerable to anyone. This is precisely why the decisions or directions of the Supreme Court are of immense importance as when the Supreme Court directs the executive authorities to abstain from doing an act, they are obligated to follow the directions of the Supreme Court, which thereby prevents potential environmental damage.

Reference


https://indiankanoon.org/doc/22635250/


https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/protests-underway-in-mumbais-aarey-goregaon-against-building-of-metro-car-shed-in-forest/articleshow/92782511.cms


https://indianexpress.com/article/india/no-tree-felling-in-mumbais-aarey-without-our-nod-supreme-court-9772401/

FAQS


Q1. What is the issue with construction of metro car shed in Aarey Colony?
Answer: The state government plans to construct metro car shed in Aarey colony for which large scale deforestation will be inevitable. The Supreme Court has now issued directions to the executive authority responsible for construction of such car shed to not cut off any trees without its permission.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *