‘MMRC’s claim that Aarey is not forest land is ridiculous’

Environmentalists and activists who had been fighting to save the green cover at Aarey colony have reacted strongly against the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) report that said that Aarey is not a forest land.

The report (a copy of which is with The Asian Age) that was submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Sunday in order to insist on constructing the car shed at Aarey, stated, “Aarey land is not forest land as per the dictionary meaning or otherwise.” Speaking on MMRC’s definition of forest land, environmentalist Anand Pendharkar from NGO SPROUTS said, “MMRC should be looking at legal terms and not definitions from a dictionary. With around 60 lakh trees and a wealth of wildlife in the area that consists of 100 species of birds, 80-85 species of butterflies, around 80 species of spiders and rare species of scorpions that are indigenous to that area, how could they say that Aarey is not a forest land ”

Also, the site at which the car depot was being planned to be built includes a breeding ground of pythons, said Mr Pendharkar. “Aarey was not even the first priority for the depot’s site and gimmicks like these are just attempts of land grabbing,” he said.

Another activist from Aarey, Rishi Aggarwal, said that MMRC’s claim that Aarey has no forests is baseless. “When chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has gone on record to accept the expert committee’s report on Aarey and Kanjurmarg was suggested as an alternative then how can this new claim by MMRC have any merit Also, their report stating that Aarey is not a forest land is ridiculous,” he said.

While Mr Aggarwal and other environmentalists are pondering whether this statement by MMRC deserves a campaign against it, MMRC managing director Ashwini Bhide, remained unavailable for comments.