NAVI MUMBAI: As many as 30 Ashoka trees on the road divider at Vashi, opposite Assam Bhavan, have been cut by civic staffers of NMMC's Vashi ward office, in order to give better display for advertisements on the same divider.
Green activists have cried foul and pointed at an unholy nexus between civic officials and private advertisers, leading to such illegal tree cuttings.
The NMMC assistant municipal commissioner at Vashi ward, Dattatray Ghanvat, said: "I will lodge an FIR against whosoever is responsible for these tree cuttings."
RTI activist Anarjit Chauhan said: "These Ashoka trees grew this tall in around five years; so it is criminal to simply chop them to favour advertisers. This case shows that we still do not value our trees and the environment."
He added: "I have also informed the municipal commissioner, Rajesh Narvekar, about the illegal tree cuttings. Stringent action must be taken against the staffers who gave priority to private advertisements, and not the green trees."
