The construction of a state-of-the-art 32-storey Thane Municipal Administration Headquarters at Pokhran 1 will lead to the removal of over 2,600 trees spread across an eight-acre area, officials have revealed.
Proposal Details
The Thane Municipal Corporation’s Public Works Department (PWD) has prepared a draft proposal for the project and sent it to the gardens department for review. According to the preliminary plan, approximately 2,000 trees will be transplanted, while the remaining trees will be permanently cut down to make way for the new headquarters.
The construction site is a densely wooded area within the Raymond Company premises at Pokhran 1, which was recently handed over to the municipal corporation. This decision has sparked concerns among local residents and environmental activists over the significant impact on the area’s green cover.
Official Response
When contacted, a PWD official confirmed the plans and stated that consultations would be held with experts from the gardens department to address the environmental concerns. The final decision on the fate of the trees is expected to be taken after these discussions.
Environmentalists and residents have raised alarms about the ecological consequences of such a large-scale tree removal and have called for greater scrutiny of the proposal.