After the Tree Authority of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday gave its nod to cut over 2,700 trees for a Metro carshed in the leafy Aarey Colony area, Bollywood actor Dia Mirza made an appeal to noted politicians to initiate steps to stop deforestation.
Aarey or the Aarey Milk Colony is known as Mumbai's biggest green lung situated close to suburban Goregaon.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRCL), which is constructing the Metro, had put up the proposal to cut 2,232 trees and promised to compensate by planting three times as many trees elsewhere in the city.
The actor, who is quite vocal about various social issues, made a fervent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take measures to stop this “massacre”.
Earlier, in a tweet, she had thanked Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray for speaking up for the issue. Thackeray had alleged that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had been "misled" on the issue.
"The metro is a good thing, I use the existing one and will use the new one too. However, whoever planned this green chopping in Mumbai, obviously has no love for our future generations or our city. Has misled the chief minister on its environmental assessment report for Aarey," Thackeray had tweeted.
Music composer Vishal Dadlani too had expressed his concern over the move to cut down trees. “This is sickening. Just sickening. This is our air that they have stolen. Our future, or lives, our familes' health. Hope everyone who caused this or let this happen, rots in the most painful hell," he had tweeted.
(With PTI inputs)