India, Nov. 18 -- The Maharashtra government has introduced a comprehensive policy for the BMC to regulate compensatory tree plantation for public and infrastructure projects that require tree felling on non-forest land in Mumbai. The move follows the Supreme Court's interim order dated October 27, 2025, issued in a suo motu writ petition initiated in 2019. The apex court's directive came after the BMC sought permission to chop trees in the way of ongoing public projects, leading the bench to call for a structured mechanism to safeguard ecological balance while allowing essential development.

Responding to the court, the state government filed an affidavit and laid out an extensive framework designed to ensure that compensatory plantatio...