Mumbai: Developer, contractor booked for hacking down five trees meant for transplantation – The Indian Express

The Mumbai Police has booked a developer and a contractor for allegedly hacking down five trees at Veer Savarkar road in Mulund (East), which were meant for transplantation, and flouting terms of the permission granted by the BMC horticulture department to fell the trees.

A case was registered on Tuesday based on a complaint filed by the BMC against Romell Real Estate Private Limited and a private contractor.

According to the statement of Assistant Junior Tree Officer Sonal Dalvi, who is posted at T Ward in Mulund, BMC had granted permission to Romell Real Estate on December 23 to fell trees. “The developer was informed that it is allowed to fell six trees and transplant seven. It was also told to keep 12 trees as they were,” she has said in her statement to the police.

However, during a survey conducted by BMC officials on December 28, it was found that of the seven trees that were meant for transplantation, five have been completely hacked.

Following this, Dalvi, along with her colleague, went to the Navghar police station and filed a complaint against the developer and the contractor.

Senior Inspector Pushkraj Suryavanshi of Navghar police station said, “We had earlier registered the case as non-cognizable offence. We asked the court whether we should register an offence in the matter. After the Mulund metropolitan magistrate court granted us permission, we registered a case.”

The case was registered under Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act.

“Both the developer and the contractor are accused in the case. We will investigate and try to ascertain the guilty and subsequently, submit a chargesheet in the matter,” Suryavanshi said.

When contacted, a consultant with Romell Real Estate, Sunil Deshmukh, said: “The contractor is at fault and not Romell Real Estate Private Limited, as we had given the contract of felling and transplanting trees to the contractor… he did not comply with the orders. We have submitted proof to the police that we are not at fault.”