Could it be the Last Time for Mumbai's February Aesthetics?

For all Mumbai residents whose social media handles might be set with the algorithm surrounding travel and city-based events, the visuals of pink blossoms along the Eastern Express Highway would have already become a common occurrence on their screens. As much as the spot has become a common spot for photoshoots again - all of which might be for the last time.  

Like every year in February-March, the stretch in Vikhroli is alive with the rows of Tabebuia, or Pink Trumpet, which turns out to be pink during this season. However, these trees -  a total of 706 - are now marked for cutting down to make way for the Ghatkopar–Thane elevated corridor project.

Talking to Local Samosa, Sagar Devre, an advocate and environmentalist who has filed the petition with the National Green Tribunal against the action, says that out of the road project from Thane's Anand Nagar to Chedda Nagar in Ghatkopar, not just the trees are marked but have also been cut on Thane's side.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is working on this 12.95-km elevated road project that links these two areas to reduce travel time, as this route witnesses congestion during peak hours. 

Out of the 706 marked for the cutting, approximately 125 are the Pink Trumpet trees, a decision about which another Mumbai-based environmental activist calls "senseless". "It's a senseless act to cut all these trees," Zoru Bhathena says.

The Mumbai Tree Authority, under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has issued notices regarding tree cutting after the MMRDA proposed cutting and transplanting trees. Petitioner Devre told Local Samosa that the trees fall under the jurisdiction of the BMC. “Currently, the cutting is on hold due to the notice,” he said.

'The Tree Act is not being followed'

Devre, who has also initiated an online petition, along with the NGT's - both of which Local Samosa has accessed and thoroughly checked - shares that the pillars along the highway have already been constructed. "The Tree Act is not being followed," he says, adding the causes to move to the court.

The Tree Act, or the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, is a state-level law which was designed to protect trees in urban areas by regulating their felling and ensuring the planting of new ones. As per the law, it requires a compulsory permission from a local Tree Authority to cut trees while also enforcing compensatory plantation for any trees removed. 

For the Ghatkopar-Thane corridor project, there have been talks of transplanting trees at the Bhandup Complex civic water purification plant and along the Sanjay Gandhi National Park boundary. However, Devre claims that there is no clarity about where the trees will be transplanted, adding that "90% of such transplants have been a failure".

Speaking to Local Samosa, even Bhathena says, "We can look anywhere in Mumbai. Not one 'compensatory plantation' has been successful." The activist further says, "Compensatory plantation or Transplantation is just intended to fool the real issue. The issue of grave destruction of tree cover."

Citizens' Concern beyond aesthetics

While thousand people have already signed the online petition as of yet, Devre claims that people have been supporting him for the hearing at the NGT, which is scheduled for February 27. 

The trees that are attracting the tourists and the locals alike, this year, is one of the most-awaited spectacles for which travellers and photographers wait a long time, while they also become a visual delight for the morning walkers, for whom the stretch is usually grey the entire year.

"People wait for this 'cheery blossom', and we should, rather, celebrate it like in Japan. Instead, authorities are cutting these down," laments Devre, as he adds, "Even today, the AQI in Mumbai is beyond 200. We need to plant more trees."

Even in his petition, the advocate has highlighted how Vikhroli, at this time, become a landmark and possesses both cultural and ecological value for a fast-paced city like Mumbai, with its properties regulating the temperature and assisting in citizens' mental well-being.

"It is one of the moments I look forward to every year. It feels like our own spring festival in the city," says Akshay Yadav, a Mumbai-based traveller, who plans to shoot the blossoms early in the season. "It turns Mumbai into something magical," he says.

"It is heartbreaking. These trees are not just beautiful but also a part of the city's identity. I hope a balance can be found between development and preserving something like this," Yadav further says.

A Vikhroli resident who has been jogging alongside the stretch of trees for the last 10 years now says that all his family and friends have visited this time. "It almost feels as if we have come to Japan!" Harsh Salvi chuckles as he talks about the pink blossoms and reiterates how social media has created a "craze which was not there before".

Additionally, he who runs an Instagram page highlighting Vikhroli events says, "It is only because of these blossoms that people are talking about Vikhroli now. The entire Vikhroli does not want these trees to be cut. It will be very upsetting."

This concern has erupted at a time when Mumbai is already dealing with a lot of construction activities for various projects. Recently, the elected Mumbai corporators demanded the introduction of a congestion tax - a fee levied on vehicles entering densely populated areas during peak hours - in the city’s central business districts, over prolonged pollution issues in the city.

Meanwhile, the cutting down of trees has become a new reality in Mumbai. A total of 499 trees in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area will also be cut over the proposed pod taxi project, and as the compensatory plantation plan, there are plans to plant the saplings at Shirdon village in Panvel. 

On the other hand, in December 2025, the Bombay High Court had approved the cutting of approximately 45,000 mangrove trees for the 26.3 km Versova-Bhayander Coastal Road project in Mumbai.

Contrary to this, on February 7, the High Court, criticising the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for its inadequate procedure in granting permission to fell four coconut trees in Erandwane - opened its judgment poetically, stating, “Trees are a poem which the earth writes upon the sky.”

For Mumbai, however, the poem’s rhyme scheme currently rests with the National Green Tribunal.