Mumbai: Thirteen members from various political parties were appointed to the BMC’s Tree Authority on Monday, with mayor Ritu Tawde announcing the names in the Municipal House. The authority is responsible for making key decisions on tree conservation, tree-cutting permissions, and the city’s green policies.Among those appointed, the BJP is represented by Ganesh Khankar, Sayali Raghunath Kulkarni, Rohan Rathod, Siddharth Sharma and Harsh Bhargav Patel.From the Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), Kishori Pednekar, Milind Vaidya, Pramod Sawant and Harshala More were included in the committee. The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) has nominated Varsha Swapnil Tembulkar and Bhaskar Shetty, while Congress has appointed Ibrahim Qureshi, and Vijay Ubale represents AIMIM. Additionally, Hetal Gala, as the chairperson of the Market and Garden Committee, will be an ex-officio member of the Tree Authority.The Tree Authority is considered a crucial body for decisions related to the protection of trees in the city. It plays a key role in granting permissions for tree felling linked to development projects and ensuring compensatory plantation measures. With the appointment of new members, some pending proposals will be expedited.
