Mumbai News: Tribal Residents Protest Forest Department's Eviction Notice In Aarey Colony

Mumbai: Residents of tribal villages inside the Aarey Milk Colony have opposed eviction notices issued to them by the forest department and plans to shift them outside the forest.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, representatives from some of 27 villages that predate the establishment of the milk colony said that forced relocation to high-rise tenements will destroy their culture and livelihood.

Aarey, which is spread over 1000 hectares, including a buffer zone for Sanjay Gandhi National Park, has over 10,000 inhabitants from the Warli, Malhar Koli, and Kokna communities. A large population of encroachers in the slums outnumber the tribal residents.

The families said they are protected by the Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act. Akash Bhoir, secretary of the Van Hakk Samiti, said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-appointed body which represents the tribal communities, was not consulted when the eviction notices were issued. The group was set up to help the government to identify original residents of the forest from encroachers.

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Laxman Dalvi, president of the Shramik Mukti Sangh, said that they have been served notices to vacate areas where they have planted fruit trees. "We have been asked to vacate the area by August 3. The government is not following the forest rights law," said Dalvi.

The villagers said they do not want to be shifted outside Aarey. "We are farmers and forest produce gatherers. Our way of life will be destroyed if we are moved out. We do not want to be rehabilitated," said Parvati Habale, a villager.

A resident of Nagarmundipada, one of the villages, said, "Before Aarey was set up, all the residents in the forest were tribals. Now we are a minority. The encroachers should be shifted to resettlement colonies. We belong here," said Sunil Varte, a resident of Jitonichapada.

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Aarey Milk Colony is spread over 3162 acres or 1280 hectares. Around 33 hectares are used by the Metro stabling and maintenance depot. In a notification on December 5, 2016, the Department of Environment, Climate and Climate Change, declared Aarey as an eco-sensitive zone with restrictions of construction. In June, 2021, the dairy department, which managed Aarey, transferred 812 to the forest department as reserve forest.