Declare Aarey a protected area: Petition in Bombay HC

A petition seeking the declaration of Aarey Milk Colony as a conservation reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, has been filed before the Bombay high

A petition seeking the declaration of Aarey Milk Colony as a conservation reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, has been filed before the Bombay high court (HC).

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The petition highlights Aarey as contiguous to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), home to over 250 species protected under various schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972.

Conservation reserves are protected areas which act as buffer zones or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India.

The petition by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Earth Brigade Foundation, challenges all developmental activities at Aarey Colony including the Metro 3 car depot, Metro Bhavan, a zoo, a slum rehabilitation project and a proposed regional transport office. Aarey is set to lose 162 hectares (ha) due to projects planned by the state inside the 1,280-ha green lung.

Earth Brigade Foundation had moved court over the killing of tigress T-1 or Avni in Pandharkwada forest in Yavatmal in 2018.

HT has reviewed the petition, which has been filed against the Union environment ministry, various departments of the state government, including the chief wildlife warden, Animal Welfare Board of India, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Metro authorities. The HC will hear the petition on November 7.

“Respondents are not justified in permitting developmental activities (as proposed) within Aarey as the said projects will result in wilful destruction of wildlife habitat, coupled with illegal hunting of protected animals, which is strictly prohibited as per various section of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,” read the petition. “Wildlife as found all around Aarey is protected under schedule I to IV of the Act and therefore the chief wildlife warden is duty-bound to protect the same.” The petition also calls for the appointment of independent experts to carry out a detailed environment impact assessment for all proposed projects at Aarey, and obtain permissions from the chief wildlife warden before commencing construction.

Rizwan Siddiquee, counsel for petitioners, said, “Our focus is the WPA which protects wildlife and its habitat. Thus, we are praying for conserving an area home to adequate ecological, geomorphologic, natural and zoological significance, for the purpose of protecting wildlife.”

While quoting previous orders by the HC and the Supreme Court on ‘protection and improvement of environment necessary for safeguarding forests and wildlife’, the petition cited studies having discovered six new species and five rediscoveries by wildlife biologists Zeeshan Mirza, Rajesh Sanap and others from Aarey.

“We are relying on the innate strength of WPA to come to the rescue of all the wildlife that resides in Aarey, which is known widely for its biodiversity,” said PV Subramaniam, petitioner