Mitigate impact of firing range on trees on priority

Khandoba Tekdi in Bhatwadi, Ghatkopar, when it had the green cover

Residents of Bhatwadi, Ghatkopar are taking on the Maharashtra police to save a hill called the Khandoba Tekdi. A report said that the State wants to build a closed firing range here. The project has led to trees being removed with residents claiming that there has been further ecological destruction because of construction, too.

A group of citizens also started a signature campaign recently. The hill in Ghatkopar West has an ancient temple of Lord Khandoba and has around 1,000 trees that are left, but the shadow of the axe falls over them. The state's Public Works Department (PWD) is constructing the firing range.

Incidentally, in 2016, cops from the Ghatkopar police division had planted 625 saplings on the spot as part of the government's forestation drive.

The locals look at the Ghatkopar hill as the lungs of the area. Some of the other facilities include a track for walkers and it is also a picnic spot.

A report cites several worrying factors about greenery being affected and residents worrying whether they will be able to access the area at all.

This calls for a meeting with local representatives and authorities in charge of constructing the range. Complete transparency about tree cutting and where exactly these trees would be relocated should be on the priority list.

If there is a way to mitigate the impact or even move the range, then that option must be considered first.

Let us shed the attitude of inevitability when it comes to environmental impact. Every effort has to be made to strike a balance.

It will be vital to take the community along. There will be confrontation and resistance. Talk across the table to resolve these issues. Bridge the chasm formed by distrust. Respect the greenery and the voice of the people, when it comes to these projects. We certainly need to make our peace.