THANE, Sept. 14 -- The proposed Rs.12,200-crore Thane Ring Metro project will lead to the uprooting of 317 trees within the eco-sensitive zone of the Yeoor-Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), including 259 native species, according to a forest official. The alignment will pass through the eco-sensitive zones of Majiwada, Chitalsar, Manpada, Waghbil and Gaimukh. Pradeep Patil, deputy director, SGNP, Thane Division, told HT that the project would require forest land between Majiwada and Gaimukh, though the exact requirement within the sensitive zone has not yet been determined. He noted that while eco-sensitive zones around national parks are generally about 1 km wide elsewhere, the distance in Mumbai and Thane is only 100 metres. The environmental impact has added to opposition from locals, planners, politicians and NGOs, who have questioned the impact of cutting or transplanting more than 3,100 trees. Advocate Radhika Prakash Rane, founder of Thane Against Integral Ring Metro, said mature trees support biodiversity, absorb carbon and regulate urban heat, and cannot be replaced by saplings planted elsewhere. Maha Metro MD Shravan Hardikar said 500 trees would be cut and 2,600 transplanted. It plans to plant over 37,000 trees, which will be monitored for seven years....