In a welcome decision, the Maharashtra government has decided to reserve 600-acre Aarey land near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in suburban Mumbai as a forest and conserve the same.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who said the forest would be the first example of a "huge jungle" being conserved at the centre of a megapolis, an official statement said.
The chief minister instructed during the meeting to safeguard the rights of adivasis (tribals) while the area is reserved as forest.
According to an official statement, Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod, Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar and others were present for the meeting.
In another development, the area to be excluded from the forest will be demarcated after seeking suggestions and objections from citizens.
Also, construction of all types, roads, slums, adivasi pockets and government facilities will be excluded from the first phase of the initiative.
The slum-dwellers within the area will also be rehabilitated immediately.
In a series of tweets after the meeting, Aaditya Thackeray said, approximately 600 acres of open land being declared as forest while all rights of Adivasi communities will stand protected.
"Rehabilitation of slums within the area would be expedited. This would be phase 1 for which the Forest Dept will move a proposal. Phase 2 survey for additional open/forest land in Aarey, post Phase 1 will begin soon. This would help the State protect the flora & fauna existent in SGNP and Aarey, Aaditya Thackeray added. The forested Aarey Colony in suburban Goregaon is a prominent green lung of Mumbai.