Environmental activists in Dongri (Mira‑Bhayandar) are accusing the MMRDA of deliberately underreporting the ages of trees—claiming 4–6 years old in paperwork, despite evidence from 2013 satellite images showing some are over 15 years old—to avoid compensatory-planting obligations and lower penalties. During a June 23 site inspection, MBMC garden superintendent Hitesh Rathod discovered felled trees without proper tagging. While MMRDA insists it only deposited funding for tree-cutting with the MBMC and is not directly involved in the felling, activists are demanding accountability, suggesting the misrepresentation violates environmental statutes.

sources