<p>Refusing to sign on the BMC&rsquo;s Zonal Master Plan (ZMP) for the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-anti-snare-drive-launched-at-sanjay-gandhi-national-park-as-forest-department-steps-up-wildlife-protection-23626400" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP)</strong></a>, tribals on Wednesday said they have been the original inhabitants of the place and are now labelled as encroachers. Over 2400 tribals from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) assembled at Chinchpada, SGNP, on Wednesday, in a united stand against the ZMP and to demand basic civic facilities.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/apr/Tribals-2_e.jpg" alt="Tribal hamlets inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Tribal hamlets inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park</em></strong></p>
<p>The Adivasi Maha Gram Sabha, organised by the Adivasi Ekta Parishad, also called for the immediate implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) to protect their rights. Tribal residents of SGNP shared with Sunday mid-day that the ZMP violates their rights by labelling them as encroachers. And forest officials don&rsquo;t allow them to lead a normal life, &ldquo;despite us being the inhabitants of the forest even before the national park was established,&rdquo; said a resident.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are forced to use makeshift or open toilets, and stay in leaking, unsafe homes without <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/maharashtra-pushes-for-artificial-intelligence-use-in-power-supply-to-manage-summer-demand-23626399" target="_blank" rel="none noopener"><strong>electricity</strong></a>, just because the authorities don&rsquo;t allow us to construct anything on our own land. They want us to relocate instead, which is not possible for tribals as the forest is an integral part of our lives,&rdquo; added a group of tribal women.</p>
<h2>Voices</h2>
<h2>&lsquo;Against tribal interests&rsquo;<br />Dr Sunil Parhad, tribal leader</h2>
<p>Over 200 tribal hamlets were listed alongside other encroachers. We are not encroachers! Tribals have been living here for thousands of years. They [authorities] are trying to make the park human-free, but what about tribal land rights?</p>
<h2>&lsquo;No water, electricity&rsquo;<br />Gauri Magan Khaarvi, Chinchpada resident</h2>
<p>We don&rsquo;t have electricity and water connections. <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/maharashtra-two-forest-officials-arrested-by-anti-corruption-bureau-acb-for-taking-bribe-23626005" target="_blank" rel="none noopener"><strong>Forest </strong></a>officials have been trying to evict us for decades, but we have lived here for many generations before the national park was established, and we don&rsquo;t want to relocate</p>

Over 2400 tribals from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) assembled at Chinchpada, SGNP, on Wednesday, in a united stand against the ZMP 

Mumbai tribals reject BMC’s SGNP Zonal Master Plan, demand Forest Rights Act

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Say they won’t leave forest land; demand basic facilities be provided to them

We are not encroachers: Tribals rejects SGNP Zonal Master Plan

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