600 Acres Of Aarey Colony To Be Declared As ‘Reserve Forest’, Twitter Reacts

Ever since Mumbai’s Metro car depot was proposed to be made in Aarey Milk colony, many people had staged protests opposing the construction of the car shed. Several activists and citizens had raised environmental concerns about chopping hundreds of trees for the metro construction.

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Recently, in a significant decision, the Maharashtra government declared a 600-acre land parcel in Aarey colony near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) as a reserve forest, reports HT. However, the proposed area will not include infrastructure projects or the metro construction area. This means that those projects will continue to be executed.

The state used sections under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, to declare one-fifth of the 3,166-acre in Aarey colony as a reserved forest, reports Indian Express. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. The CM was quoted saying,

“After hearing suggestions and objections, the area to be excluded from the forest will be decided. But, the rights of the tribal community and others concerned will be protected while declaring it as forest.” 

 

In fact, the government will also appoint a forest settlement officer. Suggestions and objections will also be invited from people and a response will be given in 45 days’ time after initiating the process.

Even though the metro shed construction will continue, several people still applauded this welcome move:

Several others also voiced their concerns about the car shed project and the amount of tax-payers money that would go to waste because of this new decision.

Aarey is one of the last remaining green spaces in Mumbai. So, it’s very important that we preserve this precious piece of greenery in the metropolitan city. What do you think? Tell us.

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