Mumbai, May 30 -- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Tree Authority on Friday approved six proposals for cutting and transplantation of more than 2,200 trees for the proposed Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road, clearing a key hurdle for the ambitious infrastructure project despite sustained opposition from residents and environmental groups. The six proposals pertain to six stretches of the planned coastal corridor across Mumbai's western suburbs - from the Versova interchange to Bangur Nagar in Goregaon, from Bangur Nagar to Mindspace in Malad, from Mindspace to Madh Road, from Mindspace to Charkop and the Gorai interchange zone near Dahisar. According to BMC, the project will require the felling of nearly 1,000 trees and the transplantation of 1,288 trees. The highest number of compensatory plantations has been planned for stretches involving connectivity works aroCivic officials, however, defended the project as a critical infrastructure intervention aimed at improving connectivity and easing congestion across the western suburbsund Malad and Mindspace. Ganesh Khankar, BJP group leader in the BMC's Tree Authority, said, "We cleared the proposal for cutting and transplantation of over 2,000 trees for the Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road project. I suggested that if each of the 25,000 cooperative housing societies along the coastal road plants one tree, the issue can be resolved." Khankar said concerns raised by opposition members regarding the survival of transplanted trees were addressed during deliberations, and assurances were given that efforts would be taken to ensure the transplanted trees survive. As part of mitigation measures, the BMC has also proposed compensatory plantation of more than 19,500 trees in Panvel. Civic officials said land constraints within Mumbai had necessitated compensatory afforestation outside city limits. Several citizens and environmental groups have argued that plantations outside Mumbai cannot adequately compensate for the loss of mature urban tree cover in the western suburbs. They have also raised concerns over the potential ecological impact of the project, including its effect on mangroves and biodiversity-sensitive zones along the route. Civic officials, however, defended the project as a critical infrastructure intervention aimed at improving connectivity and easing congestion across the western suburbs, especially on arterial roads such as SV Road and Western Express Highway while cutting travel time for commuters travelling between Dahisar, Kandivali, Malad and surrounding areas....