A disappointing week for those who want to save Aarey

There is very little hope of Aarey being preserved for posterity unless the area gets statutory protection

Last week was disappointing to Mumbaiites who want to save Aarey Milk Colony, one of the last expanses of unconstructed land in the city outside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).

Aarey Milk Colony is spread over 3,160 acres (1,281 ha) which is owned by various government departments (HT Photo)

A committee appointed by the state government to look for an alternate site for the maintenance depot for the Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor said that shifting the project from Aarey — where 33 hectares has been allotted for the depot — will lead to a spiraling of cost and delays. The committee suggested that the stay on construction — which was imposed after trees were cut at the construction site — should be lifted. The state’s new environment minister, who had lent his support to groups opposing the depot in Aarey, tried to save the embarrassment by saying that the findings of the committee were not final and that the government will take a final call on the site.

Later in the week, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) disposed of an application that opposed the exclusion of parts of Aarey Milk Colony from the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around SGNP.

A study by the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA), Mumbai, said that only 800 of 1,300 hectares of Aarey, originally allocated as ‘No Development Zone’ will remain as a ‘Green Zone’. Around 162 hectares will be lost for new projects. The study said that new projects located in the northern part of Aarey will cut it off from SGNP, depriving wild animals of their backyard. A former CEO of Aarey, who spoke to this newspaper, warned that the area could turn into a concrete jungle by 2030, with its wildlife disappearing.

Aarey Milk Colony is spread over 3,160 acres (1,281 ha) which is owned by various government departments. A third of the land been leased or transferred to various government departments and institutions, including the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Board, State Reserve Police and Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari (Film City). The largest share of land is held by the dairy department. According to one estimate, forested areas, pastures, ponds and gardens cover around 1,740 ha. Recently, more sections of Aarey have been given for public housing, cemeteries and infrastructure projects. There are over two dozen tribal hamlets that predate the creation of the dairy. There are slums that have around 30,000 residents.

In the past, environmental groups have failed to prove that Aarey was former forest land that should be restored to its original state. Vanshakti had approached the Bombay high court with documents that suggest Aarey is part of 2,076 ha marked as “unclassed forest’ in SGNP which was transferred to the forest department in 1969. Of this, 575 ha are to be kept aside for a recreational zone while the rest of the land was to remain a part of the national park. This could mean that the area has 1,500 ha of former forest land. The claim was rejected by the court in 2018.

There is very little hope of Aarey being preserved for posterity unless the area gets statutory protection. The government committee did not suggest the shifting of the maintenance depot from Aarey but suggested that the government should provide permanent protection to those parts of Aarey that still have a green cover.