MUMBAI: Forty-eight hours after the Bombay High Court announced a high-level committee to assist with the removal of encroachers from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), state forest minister Ganesh Naik said encroachers, along with tribals, will be relocated to a 90-acre plot at Marol-Maroshi. The plot is in Aarey Colony, within the limits of the urban forest.
Naik made the announcement on Saturday, while inaugurating e-vehicle services in the park, at Borivali. The minister’s statement came as a surprise as the plot in question was to house only slum-dweller encroachers. The issue of rehabilitating tribals who live in the park has always been a contentious one. The adivasis have resisted relocation attempts, pointing out that the forest is their home, and their lives and livelihoods are intrinsically tied to the park.
During Thursday’s hearing in court, the state sought 15 to 20 days to make the land available as the zonal master plan for SGNP is currently being amended by the National Wildlife Board.
“While encroachers will be rehabilitated in Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) buildings, tribal residents will be given ground-plus-one storey homes so that they do not have to compromise their lifestyles and will not be required to move out of the forest,” said Naik. The buildings are to be built by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
Holding out an olive branch, Naik said that even after shifting, the adivasis’ livelihoods would not be affected as they will be employed within the forest limits. “They can also work as tourist guides, and in the future, we will make more employment opportunities available for them,” he promised.
Naik said a meeting will be held soon, to resolve issues concerning both the encroachers as well as the tribal community.
The 90-acre plot at Marol-Maroshi is located in a forested area classified as a No-Development Zone inside the Aarey forest. It was to be notified as a ‘forest’ area. The plot was allotted to house encroachers following litigation initiated by the Samyak Janhit Seva Sanstha, a society of SGNP slum-dwellers, who sought their rehabilitation as per earlier court orders.
In 1997 and 1999, the high court, on a public interest petition by the Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG), had directed the state to clear encroachments from SGNP and rehabilitate eligible dwellers.
“The tribals have, time and again, said they don’t want to be relocated. Before the government goes ahead with the plan, they should be consulted. Removing them does not serve any purpose since they actually know how to maintain the forest,” said Stalin Dayanand, director of Vanashakti, an environmental non-profit.
The draft zonal master plan for the park, released in September, classifies the park into three zones – eco-sensitive zones one, two and three. The Marol-Maroshi land parcel in question falls in eco-sensitive zone one, which permits development activities such as the construction of buildings, restaurants, hostels, metro depots and bridges, as approved under the Development Plan under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act 1966.