Mumbai News: BMC Seeks Supreme Court Nod To Cut 95 Trees In Sanjay Gandhi National Park For Goregaon-Mulund Tunnel Project

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to cut 95 trees inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for the Goregaon–Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project.

This move follows a January 10, 2025, Supreme Court order that barred the Tree Authority from approving tree felling in Aarey Colony without the court’s permission. The court, however, allowed the BMC to process applications and later seek its approval. Acting on this, the civic body has filed an application seeking permission to begin tree cutting for the project’s first phase.

The GMLR is a Rs 14,000-crore project that aims to ease east–west traffic by connecting Goregaon and Mulund through a 6.62-km twin tunnel. The tunnels, 13 metres in diameter, will run underground, including a 1.32-km section under Aarey.

Though the project avoids disturbing green cover on the surface, a large underground shaft — 200 metres long, 50 metres wide, and 35 metres deep — must be dug inside SGNP to lower two massive tunnel-boring machines (TBMs). These machines, each 95 metres long and 14.5 metres wide, have already arrived in Mumbai and are currently parked near the site.

“Thus, there is an urgent need for permission to allow felling of 95 trees at the launching shaft,” the BMC states, adding that the request “has no commercial interest” and serves “larger public interest” by easing east–west traffic and saving an hour of travel time between Goregaon and Mulund.

Last December, the Tree Authority held public consultations for the removal of 1,094 trees and approved the proposal, but final clearance was withheld due to the SC’s order. After a minor change in shaft location, the number of trees now stands at 1,134. The BMC says it will seek permission for the remaining trees in a separate plea.

It clarifies that the area where felling is proposed does not fall under the eco-sensitive Aarey Milk Colony.