Aarey tribals receive notice from Slum Rehabilitation Authority; housing minister Jitendra Awhad to intervene

Though the notice does not mention any active plan to relocate the padas, residents have since February 1 displayed messages of protest on their front doors

Mumbai: Cabinet minister for housing in Maharashtra, Jitendra Awhad, has promised to intervene and resolve fresh concerns over illegal evictions in three adivasi padas (tribal hamlets) of Aarey Colony, namely Keltipada, Chafyachapada and Damupada in P-South Ward.

A large majority of residents have refused to co-operate with officials and policemen who visited the padas between February 1 and February 4. (Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)

The padas are located on 98.6 acres of land that were transferred from the dairy department to Force One -- a specialised counter-terrorism unit of the Mumbai Police -- in 2009. In November 2021, it had been proposed by the state government to relocate the villages to a 5-acre plot on the same property.

Now, residents were served with a notice from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) last month, on January 14, seeking their co-operation for a survey proposed to be conducted by SRA and the tribal development department. The purpose is to gather the adivasis’ biometric information and other household-level data including income details and proof of identity. Though the notice does not mention any active plan to relocate the padas, residents have since February 1 displayed messages of protest on their front doors.

At the house of Keltipada’s unofficial village chieftain, Prakash Bhoir, a sign in Marathi reads, “I am a resident of a home in Keltipada adivasi gaothan. This is not a slum. Do not put any notice on my door. I am opposed to the survey and will take action under the Atrocities Act if compelled to do so.”

A large majority of residents have refused to co-operate with officials and policemen who visited the padas between February 1 and February 4. The three padas, as per a 2013 survey by the Tribal Research and Training Institute (Pune), are home to an estimated 418 households, with about 352 of them belonging to members of the Warli, Malhar Koli, and Kokana tribes (the latter being scheduled tribes).

Bhoir said, “If the tribal development department wants to conduct any routine survey, then we have no issue. After all they are responsible for giving us amenities like roads, water and power. But we will not interact with the slum rehabilitation authority. In 2016, we had received a similar notice and were opposed to it then also.”

Bhoir also shared a copy of a 2016 Bombay High Court order which prohibits evicting any adivasi resident from Aarey’s 27 padas.

Lila Rinzan, a sexagenarian who runs a small farming operation in Chafyapada, said, “Look at the status of adivasis who were forcibly evicted from Prajapur pada to make way for the Metro-3 line and carshed. They are stuck in small tenements without any access to farming, which is our livelihood. The land we live off is equal to our mother. We cannot leave her and simply move elsewhere.”

Jitendra Awhad, housing minister, spoke in support of the locals and promised to intervene in the matter. “The SRA should not be involved in conducting any survey of any adivasi pada in Aarey. They are not slums. The customary rights of the forest dwellers who have been living in Aarey for generations will be protected. They will not be relocated anywhere else. The issue has been brought to my attention and I am looking into it,” Awhad said to HT on Saturday.