The Bombay High Court today stayed the decisions of the Thane Municipal Corporation's Tree Authority which had permitted cutting of over 5,000 trees in Thane for development projects.
Division bench of Justices A S Oka and M S Sonak, while restraining the Authority from giving further permissions, observed that the constitution of the authority seemed illegal.
The court passed the order on a public interest litigation filed by Thane resident Rohan Joshi.
The PIL said that members of the tree authority did not possess adequate expertise and qualifications.
Only three members of the Authority were graduates in science, botany or agriculture while others were not enough educated and were appointed to the authority only because of political patronage, it said.
It demanded a reconstitution of the authority.
The court adjourned the hearing to January 2018, asking all the members of the Tree Authority to file personal affidavits-in-reply to the PIL.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
