In cover of the night, shame: Aaditya Thackeray hits out as Aarey trees hacked

Mumbai, Oct 05: Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena youth wing leader, who entered poll fray for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, came out in support of activists protesting against the cutting down of trees in Aarey Colony in Mumbai.

Taking to twitter, Thackeray termed Mumbai authorites act as a "shameful and disgusting" act which was carried out "in cover of night".

"The vigour with which the Mumbai Metro is slyly and swiftly cutting down an ecosystem in Aarey is shameful and disgusting. How about posting these officials in PoK, giving them charge to destroy terror camps rather than trees?" the Shiv Sena leader said.

"Many environmentalists and even many local Shiv Sena members from the vicinity have tried stopping this. More so the increased police presence and the way this deforestation is happening, Mumbai Metro is destroying everything India said at the UN," he added.

The entire Aarey Colony was cordoned off by Mumbai police Saturday morning after hundreds of green activists tried to stop the felling of trees in the area.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd started hacking trees late Friday night to make way for a car shed, hours after the Bombay High Court dismissed four petitions filed by NGOs and activists challenging the decision to allow felling of trees in the prime green lung of the city.

Why Aarey forest is important?

It is a well-known fact that green cover in cities can help tackle rising air pollution. The Nature Conservancy's study reports how urban trees can remove up to a quarter of PM pollution within a few meters, and can even function as a barrier for local residents, filtering bad air.

A study published in The Nature Conservancy says urban trees can remove as much as a quarter of the particulate matter pollution within a few meters, and when planted in the right places, can offer a very effective barrier, filtering bad air and protecting local residents.

It adds that cities with high population density, high levels pollution and heat, and a low cost of planting trees showed the highest return on investment - Delhi ranked third among 245 countries that would have the highest return on investment (ROI) in reducing particulate matter, Mumbai fifth and Ahmedabad seventh. In terms of ROI in reducing heat, Mumbai ranked number 2.