Have all docus, preparing map of Aarey, says state

After it failed to produce papers that prove Aarey is not part of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Borivli, the state forest department said that it was preparing a map of Aarey Milk Colony based on the documents available.

It was allowed 45 days by the western bench of the National Green Tribunal, Pune, to produce documents, which prove that Aarey Milk Colony was not a part of SGNP. The department failed to submit them at a hearing on Monday.

“All documents are in place, but since the NGT asked for a map of Aarey, it is being prepared. The suburban collector and superintendent of land records are preparing it,” said Sunil Limaye, chief conservator of forest, Thane territorial. “We will submit it during the next hearing. There is nothing to hide as documents have been submitted to the NGT.” The next hearing is on April 20.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited has plans to construct a car-shed for the Metro 3 project at Aarey across 33 hectares. However, the NGT bench had put an interim stay on any construction on the green lung until final orders. In June last year, NGOS Vanashakti and Aarey Conservation Group (ACG) had filed a petition seeking protection of the Aarey landscape and maintain it as a no-development zone.

During the March 29 hearing, the forest department said that 1,280 hectares of Aarey was utilised for non-forest activities since 1949, and pleaded that construction be allowed.

On February 17, NGO Vanashakti had submitted that large tracks of Aarey Colony, Goregaon, were transferred to SGNP when the park was expanding, according to an RTI document. “On July 22, 1980, a communication from the office of the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited, Nagpur, to its regional manager in Thane said that 2076.073 hectares of revenue land was transferred from Aarey Milk Scheme to be included in Borivali National Park,” read the affidavit signed by LP Palimkar, then divisional manager, Borivli National Park.

The affidavit further read that of 2076.073 ha, 575 ha of land shal be extracted for a recreationa zone and the rest will remain part of the Borivali National Park NGT had asked the forest depart ment to validate this.

Residents and environmental ists said that there was a cov er-up. “Maps cannot be prepared overnight. This shows some vested interest,” said Biju Augus tine, environmentalist and Aarey resident. “If there are documents the original revenue map needs to be produced.”