SC refuses to stay Mumbai HC order on special powers to civic chief

Mumbai: In what may come as a jolt to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the proceedings at the Bombay High Court challenging the power of the municipal commissioner to grant permission to cut trees.

The BMC had filed a special leave application challenging an order passed by the HC, which was hearing a public interest litigation filed by city activist Zoru Bhathena. Mr. Bhathena had approached the HC challenging the validity of an amendment to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act. The amendment empowers the municipal commissioner to allow proposals seeking to cut, remove, and transplant up to 25 trees, without sending the proposal to the tree authority.

On February 21, 2018, a division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice P N Deshmukh had ruled, “The Act does not provide that before the exercise of power, he has to consult the experts in the field. Hence, we restrain him from exercising the power under the Act of granting permission for cutting or felling of trees.”

However, the judges said, the order would not prevent the Commissioner from granting permission in “exceptional urgency when he is satisfied that unless permission is granted for felling or cutting of trees it may result in causing injury to human being or cause damage to property.”

The court was informed that Justice Oka will be hearing the matter on April 16. On this, Justice Madan Lokur asked, “Why does the BMC want a stay on the HC order? Do you want to cut trees? What is the urgency? Why can’t you wait?” The bench will hear the matter on April 20. Advocate Ankit Kulkarni appearing for Rohit Joshi, one of the intervenors in the petition, said the commissioner did not have the required expertise and therefore should not be allowed to exercise the power under the section.