Bandra residents’ fears come true: 46 trees face axe

Our fears have come truerdquo said residents of Tata Blocks after MMRDA officials conducted a survey of Sadhu Vaswani Garden on Wednesday Scared of losing it they have roped in environmentalist Zoru Bhathena Sources have told midday that the MMRDA has sought the BMCrsquos nod to chop 46 trees in and around the gardenEarlier one of the Bandra West Metro stations for 2B corridor was planned about 450 metres away from Sadhu Vaswani garden The MMRDA allegedly without informing the stakeholders moved it close to Bandrarsquos posh Parsi colony Tata Blocks It is now planned between Grace Galaxy hotel and Maruti AutoVista showroom on SV RoadNew revelation 46 trees to goThe local residents have been objecting pointing out that the project would destroy their garden It seems their fear is not completely baseless Sources told midday the MMRDA has submitted a proposal before the BMC to cut around 46 trees in and around the garden However the BMC is yet to give them permission Of the 46 trees a few are on the road but most are in the garden The BMC in 2018 spent over Rs 2 crore on the renovation of Sadhu Vaswani gardenAlso Read Bandras metro station shift MMRDA points fingers at BMCActivist Zoru Bhathena right holding papers speaks to the residents of Tata Blocks on Wednesday PicAnurag AhireBhathena who is now helping the residents told midday ldquoThis is just another cockeyed plan where they were expecting no objections However people have objected since learning about the plan The MMRDA are answerable to the stakeholders who in this case are local residents They have to come up with ways to construct the station without destroying the gardens and trees on the wayrdquoCorporator changes sideSwapna Mhatre a former corporator from H West ward who had initially supported the MMRDA has come up with an alternative to help the residentsldquoI met the residents and heard their grievances They have raised three points First the MMRDA never consulted with them as affected stakeholders second the station on a busy junction will create chaos and third their garden will be destroyed I met the contractor on the spot to understand the situation I feel it would be a winwin situation if the station was moved towards the Gaiety junction However I have to understand from MMRDA how physically viable that can be I am meeting the officials soonrdquo she told middayNo response to objection yetThe residents under the aegis of the Varde Marg Residentsrsquo Association VMRA submitted their objection letter to the MMRDA on February 27 ldquoWe are still awaiting a formal reply from the MMRDA following which we will plan our next course of action We will challenge their decisionrdquo Zameer Cyrus Palamkote a local resident and joint chairman of VMRA saidThe MMRDA continues to maintain that the new location is much more feasible for the stationldquoMeanwhile we are seeking suggestions and opinions of fellow residents We still feel the location is unsuitable for a Metro station As stakeholders we demand MMRDA furnish details of the feasibility study done for this locationrdquo Palamkote saidSentimental valueRanjit N Varde another resident said the garden is of sentimental value to many who grew up in the area ldquoI was born here played in this garden and now I go there for walks as a senior citizen Sadhu Vaswani garden is used by children and senior citizens alike Today we saw MMRDA officials surveying a part of the garden and now we feel our fear has come true They will destroy the garden the only green lung in our area I donrsquot understand how they can plan a Metro station at the busiest junction on SV Road It is going to be a complete chaosrdquo