MMRCL Rebuked for Overarching SC’s Order, Fined Rs. 10Lakhs

Mumbai Metro Rail Company Ltd (MMRCL) was slammed right this moment, on 17^th April 2023, by Hon’ble Supreme Court docket of India for trying to overreach the beforehand SC order within the Aarey Forest Tree Case and was by the way fined with Rs. 10 Lakhs.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court docket of India has rebuked the Mumbai Metro Rail Company Ltd. (MMRCL) on surpassing the earlier ordered restrict to chop the timber within the Aarey Forest Tree Mission and looking for permission from the Tree Authority to chop round 177 timber.

All in regards to the Aarey Forest Tree Case

Again in November 2022, SC had ordered and allowed the MMRCL to pursue its utility earlier than Tree Authority for slicing 84 timber within the Aarey area for the development of the “Metro Automobile Shed Mission”. The Court docket additional mounted the principle pleas to be heard on the remaining listening to in February 2023.

The chopping down of Aarey Forest in Mumbai has been within the headlines because the graduation of the metro undertaking. It has attracted numerous heated arguments and discussions from throughout Maharashtra. Not to mention Mumbaikars, however many environmentalists and protesters too, have put up banners to avoid wasting the Aarey Forest which not solely acts as a house to quite a lot of fauna however is important to battle the rising menace of air air pollution in Mumbai, which has not too long ago surpassed Delhi, in being essentially the most polluted metropolis.

Contempt of Court docket by Overreaching

Hon’ble Bench comprising of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narsimha and Justice JB Pardiwala slammed MMRCL for overreaching it’s November, 2022 order and appearing in contempt of court docket by going forward and looking for the allow for slicing 177 timber from Tree Authority as a substitute. CJI Chandrachud whereas expressing his disapprobation on the matter, mentioned, that the group can not take the court docket for a trip.

It was additional seen by the Bench that the averments offered within the affidavit of MMRCL had been a transparent indication of the truth that they knew in regards to the continuance of the SC order and but acted towards the identical. As an alternative, their plan of action ought to have been to maneuver to the court docket and purchase permission for the mandatory adjustments.

Arguments offered by each the events

Represented by Solicitor Normal of India Tushar Mehta, MMRCL pleaded that it was by no means their intention to overreach the order of the Hon’ble Court docket. It was a necessitated transfer, as the present survey befitted slicing of extra timber within the Aarey area. It was a lacuna nevertheless it was absolutely bonafide. 

It was additional added by Senior Advocate CU Singh, that the argument on behalf of MMRCL, that there have been no surveys finished within the month of December 2022, is totally false, as an in depth survey was finished within the month of March and July 2022 itself, primarily based on which they obtained permission to merely trim the branches.

Last Verdict given by the Apex Court docket

The Supreme Court docket, on perusal of the case, believed that staying the Tree Authority’s choice given on March 15, 2023, would deliver a public undertaking to a standstill because the undertaking is already in progress. Thus, the Hon’ble court docket modified the earlier order and allowed MMRCL to adjust to the choice given by Tree Authority on 15^th March 2023 and chop off 177 timber. However as a transfer to penalise MMRCL, it additional directed it to deposit Rs. 10 Lakhs to the Chief Conservatory of Forests and requested the director of IIT Bombay to confirm the identical by Deputing a workforce. The report for a similar should be submitted inside 3 weeks.