Further felling of trees in Aarey will destroy sustenance of remaining Adivasis

The Bhoyes, whose eviction has been stayed by a 2018 High Court order, are now the only family from Prajapur to continue practicing indigenous land use; harvesting fruits, tubers and a few vegetables for personal consumption and sale. The natural resources that allow them to do so are now under threat, with the MMRCL prepared to fell 124 trees in the area, of which 75 are tended to by the Bhoyes.

Mumbai: The cutting of more trees in Aarey Colony — for Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz corridor) — will gravely impact one of the last remaining Adivasi families in the tribal hamlet of Prajapur-pada (located behind Aarey Colony’s Unit No. 19, on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road). They are the Bhoyes, who belong to the Kokna Scheduled Tribe, and have been living there since before India’s independence.

Mumbai, India - April 11, 2023: Contrary to what many believe, the 177 additional trees that the MMRCL is now seeking to cut in Aarey Colony for Metro-3, are not actually located in the contentious depot plot. They can be found some distance away on a hillock in Prajapur Pada, an Adivasi settlement, which has been practising agriculture and horticulture on project affected lands for decades. At least 75 of the earmarked trees, including jamun, jackfruit, chickoo and banana varieties, are situated on the land of the Bhoye family, belonging to the Kokna Scheduled Tribe, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Around 61 Adivasi families from the pada, many of whom were engaged in small-scale agriculture and horticulture, had been evicted by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) in 2017.

The Bhoyes, whose eviction has been stayed by a 2018 High Court order, are now the only family from Prajapur to continue practicing indigenous land use; harvesting fruits, tubers and a few vegetables for personal consumption and sale. The natural resources that allow them to do so are now under threat, with the MMRCL prepared to fell 124 trees in the area, of which 75 are tended to by the Bhoyes.

The plot in question is a dense oasis of trees and shrubs, approximately 20 gunthas (half an acre) in size, which can be accessed on foot from the congested Sariput Nagar in Andheri East. Kishan Bhoye and his wife Aasha eagerly show off the various trees they are cultivating —jamun, mango, chikoo, guava, mulberry, tadgola (ice apple), lemon, jackfruit, awla, shevaga (drumsticks), banana, papaya, and coconut — among other produce like colocasia, chillies, karande (popularly known as ‘air potato’), and ‘jungli’ almonds.

“When there is a wedding in the neighbourhood, we make money on banana tree saplings, which are considered auspicious. We sell them for ₹500 a piece. We even sell banana leaves at ₹10 or ₹20 a piece, in addition to the fruit itself. Now summer is on, which means we will have good lemons to sell,” says Aasha, plucking away at the leaves of a green amaranth plant.

“This is math bhaji. It doesn’t yield enough to sell, but I will cook it at home today,” she adds, quipping that it is a favourite of her father-in-law, Budhya Bhoye, who was born in Prajapur in 1946.

This plot is part of the 33-hectares of Aarey Colony, which have been handed over to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MMRCL), to create a “shunting neck” for trains as they enter and leave the contentious Metro-3 car-shed, which is just a few hundred metres away, and where 2,141 trees were felled by the MMRCL in October 2019 amidst heated protests.

“Around two months ago, the MMRCL stuck notices on these trees, saying they will also be cut. We have been worried about this for many years now, ever since the MMRCL cordoned off the land in 2019,” says Kishan.

An intervention application (IA) challenging the permission granted to the MMRCL for felling additional trees, filed before the Supreme Court earlier this year by family patriarch Budhya, says, “It is pertinent to note 75 out of the 124 trees... are located on the agricultural land of the Applicant.”

Budhya is the only Adivasi petitioner in ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court. The others are filed by environmental activists including Zoru Bhatena, Amrita Bhattacharjee, Rishav Ranjan and NGO Vanashakti.

A 2019 petition filed before the Bombay High Court by Budhya notes, “The Applicant has prayed for his agricultural land, upon which the said trees are located, to be left undisturbed by the MMRCL and that the process of recognising his Forest Rights are completed under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Several documents of the Maharashtra government including reports and affidavits filed in the Hon’ble High Court have recognised the presence of the Applicant and other members of his Kokna tribal community as being adivasi agriculturalists lawfully growing farm produce in the Aarey Colony area.”

“We don’t have a title to the land, but we have receipts from the dairy department, to whom we paid a tax for cultivating 20 gunthas until at least 1995. The plot is not suitable for agriculture anymore, but the fruiting trees help us earn most of our income now,” says Kishan, who used to run a general store in Sariput Nagar which was demolished by the MMRCL during the 2017 evictions. “I have been given an alternative store in Kanjur, but it’s too far from the main road and doesn’t generate enough income.”

Aasha works at the local anganwadi, where she earns about ₹4,500 a month. “If these trees go, then we will have no way to supplement our income at all,” she says.

A spokesperson for MMRCL declined to comment, saying, “It will not be appropriate to give any statement right now. The position and rights of all involved parties will be deliberated in court.” SVR Srinivas, managing director, MMRCL, did not respond to requests for comment.