13 September,2026 07:35 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Tribals after they meet officials on Friday. Pic/Special Arrangement
Members of the tribal community who had started a long march from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) towards the Governor's Bungalow, raising several demands related to the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, ended their march late on Saturday night.
The march also included the demand for provision of basic facilities,for after the government assured them of a meeting next week.
Tribal leader Dinesh Habale from Aarey told Sunday mid-day that more than 1000 tribal community members started the long march towards the Governor's bungalow from the SGNP main gate on Friday. However, they were stopped by the police and they were given assurance that a delegation would be taken to Mantralaya to discuss their demands with government officials.
Despite the reassurance, community members did not retire for the night but instead waited near Aarey milk colony flyover through Friday night.
"We first went to Mantralaya, where we met officials from the Tribal department, but we did not receive the response we were expecting. We then informed them that we would proceed to meet the Governor. Following thus, the Governor's office intervened and arranged a meeting with officials there," said Tribal leader Dinesh Habale.
A delegation of around six to seven members met the officials of the Governor's office around 8 pm.
"We discussed several issues concerning Adivasis, including claims under the Forest Rights Act, SRA related issues and issues related to basic amenities. The discussion was positive, and the officials assured us that the issues related to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region would have to be taken up at the state government cabinet level. A meeting of our tribal community delegation has been scheduled for Wednesday with the Secretary of tribal and forest department. As the discussion was positive, we told our community members to call off the Long March and everyone went home in the night," added Habale
The delegation now plans to discuss how the process for pending forest rights claims can be expedited, the community members told midday that they will also be opposing any SRA scheme for tribals.
