MUMBAI: The Aarey Dairy Development handed over the 812 acres of land adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai to the forest department of the Government of Maharashtra on Monday, June 7. A press release from the state forest department said that the acquisition of the land parcel has paved way for the expansion of vast forests in Mumbai.
In September last year, Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, had said that the government had decided to designate a 600-acre parcel of land in the Aarey Milk Colony as a reserve forest. Later, the state government decided to expand the area of reserve forest in Aarey from 600 acres to 812 acres.
The state government has invoked Section 4 of the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927, which means that the government is intending to declare the land as a reserve forest by appointing a forest settlement officer (FSO). After acquisition by the state forest department, FSO will survey the area for any objections and suggestions about land rights. After the hearing on suggestions and objections, the government will declare the final area as forest under the Section 20 of IFA, 1927.
D Stalin, an environmentalist, thanked the government for honouring their promise and said that he is hoping for the forest department to proactively conserve the forest and wildlife in it. “But this should be the beginning of the process to conserve Aarey, not the end,” he added.