45 herons die in Thane hsg soc’s tree-trimming exercise

Forty five herons died while 27 others were rescued when their nests were destroyed during a tree-trimming exercise at Rutu Enclave Cooperative Housing Society, at Ghodbunder Road, Thane, on Thursday.

- HT Correspondent

While the society had received the permission to trim between 15 to 20 trees within the housing complex, including the recreational area, from Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) last week, following Thursday's incident, the forest department is investigating if the society had abided by the rules.

Range forest officer (RFO) Dinesh Desale said: “We have recorded the deaths of 45 herons and injuries to 27. While the trees were trimmed with TMC's permission, we are verifying whether the rules mentioned in the approval letter were followed.”

A forest department official, who did not wish to be named, said, norms dictate that only 20% of a tree’s branches should be trimmed under such permissions. “However, in this case, the society members and contractors have trimmed more than 50%, which appears to be a clear violation,” said the official.