Satam Hits Back at Thackerays Over Tree-Felling

 Mumbai: BJP Mumbai president and MLA Amit Satam challenged the Thackerays and the Congress to visit 13 villages in Beed district to verify the BMC’s (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) alleged plantation of two lakh trees as compensatory afforestation for those felled during the Madhya Vaitarna dam project. Satam accused the Opposition of double standards and politicising environmental issues. Defending the Karjat project as a source of clean energy, he claimed that an equivalent thermal power project would require 15 times more land and dismissed allegations that the electricity would be supplied to Gujarat as misinformation.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP state headquarters, Satam claimed that when the undivided Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray, was in power in the BMC, the civic body had spent crores of rupees to plant two lakh trees across 540 hectares in 13 villages in Beed district to compensate for the trees felled during the Madhya Vaitarna dam project. He urged Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray and Congress leaders to visit these sites as an environmental tourism initiative and showcase the plantations to the public.

The Mumbai BJP chief’s allegations come against the backdrop of MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s visit to the proposed project site in the Karjat-Bhimashankar region of Raigad district on Wednesday, where tree-felling has begun for the proposed 3,000-MW pumped storage project. On Thursday, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal threatened legal action against Torrent Power’s proposed project, alleging that it would lead to large-scale tree-felling in the ecologically sensitive Sahyadri region. Earlier this week, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut also visited the site of the tree-felling in the Saidongar area of Karjat taluka in Raigad district. Opposition leaders have alleged that around 32,000 trees are being felled in the Karjat-Bhimashankar region in the name of development, causing severe environmental damage. The felling of thousands of mature trees has triggered widespread public anger.

Accusing Opposition parties of double standards, Satam said sustainable development was a commitment for the BJP, while environmental concerns were merely a political fashion for the Thackerays and the Congress. He also alleged that Opposition leaders were misleading people in the name of environmental protection and creating unrest over development projects.

Satam further alleged that Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), along with some actors, were opposing development projects and spreading misinformation. He also claimed that foreign-backed urban Naxal elements were attempting to obstruct India’s development.

“India has become the world’s fourth-largest economic power, and many major countries are uncomfortable with its (India’s) success. Therefore, whenever a new project is proposed in the country, urban Naxals, backed by foreign interests, oppose it. The Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) and some actors have now joined this opposition,” the BJP legislator alleged.

He also displayed photographs of sites in 13 villages in Beed district selected by the BMC for planting two lakh trees. He taunted that the Thackeray brothers should definitely undertake a sightseeing trip to these locations.

The Mumbai BJP chief said global pumped storage power capacity had reached 201 GW, with China and Japan making significant progress, while India’s capacity stood at just 7.43 GW.

Taking a swipe at the MNS chief, Satam accused him of spreading a false narrative that electricity generated by the Karjat project would be supplied to Gujarat.

The Mumbai BJP chief also accused Uddhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray and the Congress of pursuing Pakistan’s agenda by opposing Maharashtra’s development.