Mumbai: Aarey is a forest, admits government; greens welcome move

In some good news for the city the Maharashtra government has decided to reserve 600acres of flora and faunafilled Aarey land near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park SGNP to create a protected forest area After deciding on this on Wednesday Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the lush green forest in the middle of the concrete jungle will be the first of its kind in the worldEnvironment Minister Aaditya Thackeray Dairy Development Minister Sunil Kedar Congress and Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod Shiv Sena collaborated and anchored the proposal which the CM approved on WednesdayA meeting held by Honrsquoble CM Uddhav Thackeray ji with Aarey Forestamp Environment Depts has decided to apply Section 4 of IFA to approximately 600 acres in Aarey land near SGNP This implies that it will be declared a reserve forest after a hearing for suggestion objections1nmdash Aaditya Thackeray AUThackeray September 2 2020The Aarey land was in the news for several reasons when trees were felled to build a metro car depot The site is rich with biodiversity A strong battle by green activists to save the area including middays sustained reportage helped stall the construction but thousands of trees were felled The project is likely to be shifted to an alternative site in the city Aaditya who was at the forefront in demanding the shifting of the car depot had taken on the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP despite the Sena being its partner in the governmentChance for objectionsCM Thackeray said in a statement that the rights of Adivasi residents will be protected while converting the status of the vast land The people will be given opportunity under section 4 of the Indian Forest Act to submit objections and suggestions within 45 days of the notification the CM saidPublic hearingAccording to the CMO based on the objections and suggestions received the total area will be finalised for reservation Existing structures roads slums Adivasi hamlets and government facilities will be excluded from the first phase of conservation Slum rehabilitation work will be expedited The Forest Department has been asked to submit the Phase1 proposal at the earliestAaditya tweeted Phase 2 survey for additional open forest land in Aarey post Phase 1 will begin soon This would help the State protect the flora amp fauna existent in SGNP and AareyThe minister thanked Kedar for his stand to protect the flora and fauna of Aarey and for cooperating with Rathod We look forward to moving forward on this proposal soon as decided today he addedThe Forest and Environment Departments have decided to apply Section 4 of IFA to conserve the approximately 600acres in Aarey near SGNPThe tweet by Aaditya also said A meeting held by Honble CM Uddhav Thackeray ji with Aarey Forest amp Environment Depts has decided to apply Section 4 of IFA to approximately 600 acres in Aarey land near SGNP This implies that it will be declared a reserve forest after a hearing for suggestion objections1nGreen activists happyCitybased green activists and Save Aarey cause supporters have welcomed the move Green activist Zoru Bhathena said We are so grateful that our government has started the initiative to protect Aarey as a forest A muchneeded step in the right direction to protect Aarey and SGNP for our future generations Mumbai is gratefulEnvironmentalist Stalin D also a member of the Aarey Conservation Group said It is a welcome move Finally a government had the honesty to admit Aarey is a forest Its a winwin situation for the tribals as their rights remain protected The slum dwellers will also get better housing Its a good beginning I thank Our CM EM Forest minister and MVA government for thisTaxidermy museum at carshed siteWith Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asking the bureaucrats to look for an alternative location for the Metro III car depot so that it can be shifted from Aarey Milk Colony Forest Department officials visited the car depot site on Tuesday to see how the two structures already constructed can be utilisedAlso ReadIn Aarey Colony the roads are dark and full of cratersA senior forest department official said Chief Conservator of Forest and Field Director of SGNP C Mallikarjun and Chief Conservator of Forest Thane Territorial Naresh Zurmure visited the car depot site and will be preparing a plan to see how the structures can be utilisedSources from the Forest Department told midday that the government does not wish to demolish the structures as public money has already been spent so one such plan is to convert a structure into a stateoftheart taxidermy museumKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news