And today, on April 25, the MMRCL started felling more trees in Aarey Colony’s Prajapurpada village to make way for a shunting neck for the Metro-3 train. Line-3 (Aqua Line) of the Mumbai Metro is a 33.5 km under-construction metro line with 27 stations that connects Cuffe Parade, Bandra Kurla Complex, and Aarey Colony. It is important to note that, of the 177 trees felled, 53 will be transplanted and 124 will be permanently cut down, with the Supreme Court having cleared the way for the rail corporation.

Kishan Bhoye, an Adivasi resident of Prajapurpada, who belongs to the Kokna tribe, spoke to the Hindustan Times and stated that “Throughout the morning, we could hear the sound of electric saws at work behind the barricades set up by MMRCL. There was police bandobast (presence) not only in Prajapurpada but also at Picnic Point in Aarey, and even in the SEEPZ area near Sariput Nagar. My family has cared and lived off these trees for at least three generations. They have taken away a part of our identity.” As provided by the Hindustan Time, Kishan used to run a general store in Sariput Nagar which was demolished by the MMRCL during the 2017 evictions. He stated that even though he had been given an alternative store in Kanjur, it is too far from the main road and doesn’t generate enough income.

Social media is flooded with videos showing a large number of police officers deployed in the area. Authorities are also being accused of felling more than 177 trees. According to the Hindustan Times, environmentalists and adivasis living near the project site estimate that the total number of “unnumbered” trees is between 90 and 100, which have not been granted permission to be felled. Among them were at least three fig trees, one pipal, one mango tree, a mulberry tree, and a coconut palm.

The video can be viewed here:

Amrita Bhattacharjee, one of the petitioners in the case of the felling of the tree in Aarey before the Supreme Court, expressed her disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision as well as her concerns about the illegal felling of the tree, and stated, “It is a shame that our submissions were not considered by the apex court. Despite the urgency of the situation, I filed a complaint with the forest department and IIT-Bombay about the undercounting of trees but received no response. Furthermore, because this project site is on a steep hill where JCB machines cannot reach, there is widespread concern that even trees designated for transplantation have been felled en masse,” as reported by the Hindustan Times.

The plight of the Adivasi Budhiya Bhoye, who had been living in the Aarey forest area, is also being highlighted on social media, with emphasis on the snatching away of their livelihood. Budhiya was the only Adivasi petitioner in the proceedings before the Supreme Court, while the others were filed by environmental activists including Zoru Bhatena, Amrita Bhattacharjee, Rishav Ranjan and NGO Vanashakt. The Bhoyes, whose eviction was halted by the Bombay High Court order in 2018, are now the only family in Prajapur to continue practicing indigenous land use, harvesting fruits, tubers, and a few vegetables for personal consumption and sale, as reported by the Hindustan Times. Unfortunately, the natural resources that had allowed them to do so are now being depleted, with the MMRCL felling 124 trees in the area, 75 of which are cared for by the Bhoyes.

It is important to note that the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) evicted 61 Adivasi families from the pada in 2017, many of whom were engaged in small-scale agriculture and horticulture, and 2,141 trees were felled by the MMRCL in October 2019 amidst heated protests.

Related:

SC reprimands Mumbai Metro on its bid to fell additional trees in Aarey, imposes Rs 10 lakh fine

Protests on attack on JNU students: Mumbai police withdraws case against 36 protesters

Protest in ‘Struggle To Save Aarey ‘ in Mumbai

SC forbids Mumbai Metro from cutting trees in Aarey colony

Metro car shed to shift from Aarey forest to Kanjurmarg

Bombay HC stays order shifting metro car shed

Truth prevails! Maha govt to declare parts of Aarey as reserved forest

The post Trees felled in Aarey at 5am amidst heavy police deployment appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On 21^st August, A protest demonstration was staged at Picnichen Spot, Opp Shaheed Birsa Munda Statue, Aarey forest, Mumbai. It opposed the present Maharashtra Government of Shinde-Fadnavis in installing Metro 3 depot at Aarey and to project the truth behind depot politics and land scam.

More than 500 persons protested, from a broad strata of society.. Students,  Dalits,  Adivasis and activists of many NGOs, Political Parties. and social organisations. participated. The main participant was Army. An important role has also been played by activists of Disha Students group, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Bigul Mazdoor dasta like Avinash Bittu and Baban.

Around three weeks ago being embarrassed to the core  from the growing youth protest, the fascist Shinde-Fadnavis government issued instructions to brutally subvert  every initiative  to organize people against the illegal destruction of Aarey Forest.

Avinash, a first year M.A. student of Philosophy from Mumbai University and member of Disha Students’ Organization and Dr. Pooja, an occupational therapist and member of Progressive Doctors’ League, both constituent organizations of the Save Aarey Joint Action Committee hade been detained at Aarey Police Station along with 11 other local residents and environmental activists.

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DEPOT POLITICS

• The Kanjur depot plot measures 41 ha (102 acres).
• If an integrated depot for Line 3, 6 and upcoming Line 4&14 is planned at Kanjur, then the entire plot will be consumed by the Metro. This also eliminates the need for Aarey or land in Thane.(pg48)
• If Metro 3 depot plot is shifted to Aarey and Line 4 uses land in Thane, then Metro 6 only requires 15 ha (37 acres) leaving the balance area of nearly 26ha (65 acres) open to residential and/or commercial development.
• Denying Kanjur land for Metro 3 paves the way for the exploitation of balance areas of the plots in Aarey and Kanjur under the disguise of ‘ancillary development’. The plot chosen in Thane also becomes vulnerable. (pg 32-33)
• An area of 165 ha in Aarey has also been exempted thus adding more lands to be exploited (pg 8,9)
• Taking into account the available FSI, the plot areas of Aarey and Kanjur and the current ready reckoner rates, the monetary potential of just these two plots touches One lakh crores!

Thus Aarey became the egg  or hub of this real estate extravaganza.

Unfortunately this scam which will only benefit a few, has been used to stall the work of critical metro lines and delaying them.

The people backing this distorted decision are answerable if it is in Mumbai’s interest to

• Forfeit an important forested area like Aarey?
• Suffer delay in completion of the Mumbai Metro network?
• Deprive Mumbaikars of better connectivity between the various lines and dismantle the

Convenient linkage of suburbs like Powai, Thane, Badlapur to Western suburbs and South

Mumbai

• Suffer loss of land, time and hard -earned taxpayers money.

What is the motive behind this? Thirst for Profits to quench greed for the real estate groups and associated lobbyists?

_Slogans were vociferously raised ’Stop LiesToSupremeCourt  ,‘SaveAareyForest’   ‘Save Indigeneous People’  ‘SaveAdivasis ‘  ‘Adivasi LivesMatter’   ‘SaveMumbaikar ‘ SaveAaarey ‘Save Nature ‘ ‘ShiftMetroCarShed3ToKanjurMarg’,  ‘AareyDepotIs LandScam ‘  ‘JaiBhimLalSalaam’  ‘Inquilab Zindabad’

Background to ‘Save Aarey.Movement

The struggle to save Aarey Forest has been going on for a considerable period time now and the movement has received support from individuals and organizations encompassing the country and the world At its current stage, an obstacle is created by from the Environmental approach of NGO’s of several individuals, many of whom happily continue to blow their trumpet n their social media profiles of having received awards from Uddhav Thackeray and Devendra Fadnavis. For these people, ‘environmentalism’ is a business – they raise funds for their ‘activism’ from various corporates, resort to crowd funding if the issue is a popular one and also ‘partner’ with the government whenever possible. They simply fail to gauge the base of bankruptcy of ruling class politics. The movement’s seeds were planted in response to the State deciding to allot public hand in order to benefit a handful of capitalists and real estate barons. The ‘metro car shed’ in Aarey is a façade which allows the state to pretend as if the project is in public interest when the real purpose is in fact to allow the builders and developers to come in through the backdoor. The lives of over 1100 species of plants and animals hang in jeopardy  to allow them to develop luxury apartments providing great aerial views of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, facilitating  the rich the pleasure of living ‘close to nature’. Each such flat will sell for Crores of rupees making every tree felled and animal killed for the purpose worth the effort. It is because such powerful interests are at stake that this plan has crystallised in such a determined and organized manner, despite all government reports and public protests advising against the measure. In their thirst for power, each party – whether it is the BJP, Shiv Sena, MNS, Congress, NCP, or VBA – cut throats of each other projecting itself as the superior alternative.. These parties never promote welfare for the environment. Their “concern lays only within the boundaries of their material interests. No matter which party reaches to the chair the funds which steer them to power invariably comes from the wealthy – the capitalists, builder-developers, corporates and real estate moguls. As soon as they gain seat of power, they will first try to appease their bosses – those capitalists who have patronised them to reach this destination – and in fact, that is their only purpose. They get to enjoy the privileges of power only so long as they are faithfully bootlick their bosses (and this is precisely what happened when the Fadnavis government came to power). Once the political class takes a decision to please it the task of enforcing this decision falls on the executive .Here the police intervenes s to ensure that the dictates of the ruling class are obeyed and that all voices of dissent are suppressed. In such a situation, all foolish tactics such as as garlanding, pleading, giving roses to or prostrating before the police are purposeless.

In addition to such stupidity, some “NGO environmentalists” endorse great faith in legalism and seriously believe that the courts will come to their rescue. When the movement is steered on the course of independent political direction and the people are united, the authoritarian behaviour of the judiciary is checked and the courts act in people’s interest. However, when the movement is weak and confused as it is now, it is clear to even the layman that the court will mainly act to crush any remnant of the movements or stall until such a point where it basically achieves its goal and the legal fight is rendered baseless. Only by establishing the power of the people can the movement can succeed. As of today however, the movement is veering towards the opposite direction. The NGO Environmentalists, following the doctrine of “An enemy’s enemy is a friend” is looking to appease as many opposition political parties as it can. But the truth is that every political party which has come to power in Maharashtra has endorsed the destruction of the Aarey forest! Even though some parties may make claims to support the movement to Save Aarey at present it is important to remember the history of these political parties’ actions when in power in the past .The nexus between the BJP, Congress and ShivSena in executing many a project jointly is an ideal illustration in recent decades.

Democratic intellectuals need to be brought in the forefront of this struggle .Workers  and peasants must grasp the inter relation between such developments and their day to day lives and its link with liberalisation and globalisation.. The focus in the movement is in garnering forces to confront the neo-fascist BJP.Postive to witness how the ruling calluses are shaken by the youth protests of ‘Save Aarey.’ agitation.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance Journalist who covers mass movements all around the country.

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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On November 15, the Supreme Court extended the Interim order dated October 7, 2019 it had passed in the Aarey tree felling case. The Supreme Court had asked the local body to maintain status quo and stop any further felling of trees in Aarey. The Maharashtra government had however, informed the court that the required number of trees had already been cut by the local body and no more trees will be felled.

The case is listed as a suomotowrit petition as the same was registered after the Supreme Court received a letter from a law student named Ravish Ranjan, wherein he raised concerns about the trees felled by the local body in the dead of the night, the same night when the Bombay High Court dismissed the PIL against felling of trees in Aarey.
 

Background

After the Bombay high court on Friday refused to declare the Aarey Colony a forest area. It also declined to quash a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decision allowing the felling of over 2,600 trees in the suburban green zone for a metro car shed.However, the court’s Chief Justice PradeepNandrajog had orally observed that he hoped authorities will not start cutting the trees before the petitioners moved the Supreme Court, according to reports.

In 24 hours since 9 pm on Friday, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) cut as many as 2,134 trees in Aarey Milk Colony. To prevent the felling of the trees, many people had come out in protest which was met by imposition of prohibitory orders by the police, which ultimately led to 29 people being arrested, many of whom were students. These arrested persons were then granted bail by a holiday court on October 6, which was a Sunday.

On October 21, the top court had clarified that there is no stay on the construction of the Mumbai Metro car shed at Aarey Colony but the status quo order is only applicable on felling of trees there. The court even asked the BMC to submit a report on the number of trees cut, a status report on activities proposed in Aarey and to submit pictures of transplantation and afforestation.

Practically speaking, the Interim Order, which the Supreme Court ordered to be continued, can be deemed to be inconsequential, and the continuation of operation of the same will have no positive impact on Aarey and Mumbai’s ecosystem.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 16.

Related:

Stop Felling of Trees in Mumbai’s Aarey until further Orders, release activists: SC
SC extends ban on felling trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony for Metro car shed project
Crash course in being crass? Mumbai Police puts up intimidating posters at Aarey
AareyAdivasis seek forgiveness from felled trees

The post Ban on tree felling to continue in Aarey: SC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 

 
I spent last night in a small Adivasi hamlet in Aarey Forest and it will surely go down as one of the most consequential nights of my lifetime. My first thought was why have I not done this before, and my last thought was I can’t wait to come back again.
 
Vitthal Lad is our Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Jogeshwari East.  He has been a party leader since inception and I was aware he had a lifetime of work on tribal welfare behind him. Last night I learned exactly how  significant and impactful his work has been. After campaigning in Mumbra, I left for Aarey where I was to join Vitthal Bhau for an election meeting in an Adivasi village called Keltichyapada on the hill behind the Unit 18 cow shed, or rather buffalo shed. My colleagues and I navigated through the dense forest to locate this place, and even though it was only 8pm in the evening we couldn’t find a walking soul to show us the way. The small groups of people who worked and lived at the dairy units were largely of North Indian origin and didn’t know much about the exact location of these Adivasi hamlets, called “padas”.  Finally two boys from Keltichyapada came and rescued us from Unit 18 cowshed. Navigable roads are only up to the dairy units and the Adivasi padas, which are only a few hundred yards from the Units, don’t have any road connectivity. In case of medical emergencies they have to carry the patient in their arms for distances ranging from 200 metres to 1 kilometer before they reach a road – and yes this is in Mumbai not some mofussil area. We trekked up a dark hilly path and could see the city lights shining far away in consummate contrast to this silent dense dark jungle. The thrill of a possible wild encounter kept us alert on the way up.

 
We were greeted warmly by the residents of Keltichyapada and the main topic of discussion was the cruel attempt by local Shivsena MLA Ravindra Waikar and the current BJP-Shivsena Government to declare their idyllic village hamlets as slums and redevelop them under the Slum Rehabilitation Project (SRA). Mumbai’s SRA scheme is the most cruel transgression by the “haves” on the “have-nots” wherein a slum is grabbed by a builder, half the residents are declared illegal and the other half are stuffed into small jail like rooms in a ramshackle high-rise and most of their land is used to make a fancy residential complex for the affluent class. The Aam Aadmi Party has vowed to fight the classification of Adivasi Padas as slums. Interestingly, the Senior Police Inspector of Aarey Police station, Ms Pawar, trekked all the way up too, just to witness our small election meeting – methinks the police is still smarting against the complaint I lodged about DCP D S Sawmi for brutality on the night of the tree felling on the proposed car shed site.
 
After the election meeting we walked along a forest path and saw the intrusions on the forest by Force One, an elite anti terror squad that has been given 100 acres in Aarey forest even though experts argue that they could have easily been accommodated on defense land available in Kalina. Buildings made and abandoned by Force One, metal exercise structures, and other such intrusions defaced the forest in an irrational pattern. We were invited for simple tribal meal at Chafyachapada, named after ancient Frangipani Trees (called ‘chafa’ in Marathi and ‘champa’ in Hindi) that grow in this hamlet. I can affirm that the dinner at this ‘Frangipani’ outlet was more soul enriching than what one may have at its namesake 5 star eatery.
 
40 tiny houses (most smaller than an average bedroom), two toilets for men and two for women, a small room for a temple and an anganwadi comprise Chafyachapada. After dinner the women told me how when Vitthal Lad started visiting them 30 years ago there were totally unconnected with the outside world. They were illiterate, owned no paper work, in fact often times they didn’t even name their children using only common local nicknames. Vitthal Lad pushed them towards literacy, towards naming their children, making identity papers. He named all their nameless padas with literally names of the flower, animal, bird, water body or land feature most sighted there, so that they could easily identify with the name. Thus they became Chafyachapada, Kelitchyapada, Morachapada, and so on.

 
The ladies had tears in their when they recounted how not so long ago they were so poor, their children used to find the waste dough thrown into the garbage by a nearby bakery and they would make rough bread out of it. From those times to now, where at least they have become literate enough to do menial jobs, is a journey full of tears and small victories. And they credit Vitthal Lad for holding their hand, making them learn, forcing them to fight for their rights and always having their back. They got electricity only around 7 years ago after a long struggle in government offices, and water just a few years back. They mocked the solar lamp which never worked and other impractical halfhearted schemes of the government. They have lived here for hundreds of years, but now they need No Objection Certificates from outside bodies to even tile their temple porch. A boy recounted how Force One soldiers threatened him when he tried to build a toilet in his own home even though he told them that he was only doing what Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked them to do, and the big film stars like Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar repeatedly said. The hypocrisy and hollowness of government practices is on crystalline display in Aarey where the lives of Adivasis are being made more and more difficult by an administration that hopes they will finally succumb to the pressure and give up their land.
 
As I was petting a local dog they showed me his scars from a leopard attack and I was amazed how the bitzer survived. Another lady told me how she recently fought a leopard who had grabbed her dog, and they literally had a tug of war till her husband finally flung a brick at the leopard and it relented. The dog is still healing, under ministration of our traditional antidote to all ills, turmeric. Asha Gavit, whose house I stayed in, shared tales of how she herself was attacked by a leopard in her younger days and has scars to prove it. These women were not complaining, they were just matter of fact stating the challenges of their lives. Being children of the forest there have no fear, just a clear sense that they have to share the forest with other inhabitants and occasionally endure clashes.
 
Just hours away from Khojagiri Poornima, the moon shone through the canopy of trees and I had to pinch myself to remember this was not some remote forest but a forest in the heart of Mumbai. For a moment I felt sorry for our politicians and bureaucrats whose greed had blinded them from appreciating this miracle of nature. That was just for a moment, for the rest of the time I was filled by a purpose to stop their malafide designs. In a fraction of a cost of a statue in the sea we can give pucca sustainable ethnic houses to the Adivasis and develop these 27 villages for tourism with indigenous food, handicrafts, music, dance and rituals on display. What a priceless treasure that would be to share with the world.
 

 
It is heartbreaking that instead of preserving the rich lives and culture of Mumbai’s original inhabitants we want to convert them into slum dwellers who are at lowest end of the pecking order, that too in a land of which they were Kings, long before the city was even named and founded.  How are we different from invaders who came and annihilated local populations just to grab the land? If in circa 2019 we haven’t even developed an iota of sensitivity towards preserving culture, of giving justice to the marginalised, of taking our environment seriously, then we are a doomed race.
 
The takeaway from the evening is to keep fighting. These Adivasi women have fought nature, fought leopards, fought the administration, fought discrimination and they still continue to fight, then we Mumbaikers owe them our time and energy to strengthen their fight.
 
Preeti Sharma Menon is the National Executive Member of the Aam Aadmi Party, and has been a champion of the Save Aarey Movement.
 
 

The post A Tryst with Aarey: October 10, 2019 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Photo Credit: Vijay Bate

In wake of the indiscriminate and cowardly felling of trees in Aarey, I decided to go check things out on the ground myself. While I could not enter the Aarey forest on Saturday (October 5) or Sunday (October 6), I managed to gain entry on October 7. This is what I found.

I reached the entrance to the Aarey forest on the Western Express Highway at Goregaon at 5:30 PM. The first thing I noticed was that the police that had set up a check point at the location and were checking people driving private vehicles to ensure that only residents were allowed inside. BEST buses that pass through the area as a part of their regular route were also allowed to ply as usual.

There was some confusion about the lifting of section 144 that prohibits an assembly of more than four people. However, as I was unaccompanied by anyone, I decided to venture inside. My taxi driver advised me to say that I was going to Royal Palms, an upscale residential project located inside Aarey. It worked! I got inside.

At the check-point near the bus stop inside Aarey, I alighted from the vehicle and started walking. The police vans outnumbered the media outdoor broadcasting vans! There were several rickshaws parked here. I asked the rickshaw drivers about the place where the tree-cutting was taking place. They told me to keep walking towards Royal Palms. So far, so good.

I spotted two outdoor broadcasting vehicles of news channels parked near this check-point. I kept walking. But, that’s when television news reporters from these two channels spotted me. Two people from one of the channels started following me. Perhaps they were aware of my activism and social media campaigns on the subject. However, they did not call out to me. I kept checking who was behind me using my cell phone on the pretext of checking my appearance using the front view camera.

That’s when a person in plain clothes walked up to me and asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to Royal Palms. He didn’t stop me. But as I walked further, I had an inkling that I was being followed. I also saw the same bike borne men drive past me more than once that led me to believe that I was under surveillance. Once again I used my phone camera to check what was happening behind me and saw the plain clothes man talking to the two reporters who I felt had also been following me. Perhaps they told this man who I was, because shortly after that the same man walked up to me and demanded that I leave.

When I asked why, he said he knew who I was and why I was there. When I said that as I was alone and that I wasn’t breaking any law, he insisted that I leave. I asked him for his name, but he refused to identify himself or state under what authority he had the right to ask me to leave. I reiterated that even if section 144 was imposed, I was all alone and not breaking any law. But this did not work and the man got even more insistent. When he got a rickshaw and ensured that I got into it, I began to suspect that perhaps he was a plainclothes policeman or someone from some law enforcement authority or security agency. Though I cannot say for sure. Either way, the following questions remain unanswered:

1)      Why is there an attempt to hide the site of the tree-cutting from the public? If the Supreme Court has already stayed the cutting of trees, why aren’t the media or activists being allowed to see for themselves that the felling has indeed been stopped?
2)      Who are the authorised security personnel deployed in the region and why are some of them not wearing uniforms or identity tags? With whose blessings are these plainclothes men operating?
3)      What provisions have been made to protect the wildlife that may have been rendered homeless and confused by the felling of trees, where they are habituated to living? Mumbai Mirror reported how a snake landed up in a BMC school inside Aarey. This situation can escalate as other homeless and scared fauna could end up in residential areas, causing panic that might accentuate the human-animal conflict in the heavily forested region.

It also remains to be seen if the manner in which the trees were felled in the dead of the night will be forgotten by Mumbaikars when they decide the electoral fortunes of the government on October 21.

* The author is an equal-rights and animal welfare activist. He is also a vociferous supporter of the Save Aarey movement.
 

The post How I was stalked & stopped when I ventured inside Aarey: Harish Iyer appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: PTI

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that no more trees be cut in Mumbai’s Aarey forest until October 21, when it would hear a plea against the government’s decision to clear the area for a metro car shed.

The court, in its directions, also asked all activists who have been detained for protesting the government’s action to be released.A special bench of the Supreme Court was constituted to hear an urgent plea on the Aarey matter. A notice to this effect came up on the court’s website at around 8 p.m.. The notice read:

“That a special bench has been constituted to hear the matter tomorrow, ie October 7, at 10 a.m., on the basis of a letter dated October 6, 2019 addressed by Rishav Ranjan with regard to the felling of trees in Aarey forest, state of Maharashtra which has been registered as a public interest litigation.” The notice does not indicate which bench will be hearing the matter.

According to LiveLaw, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Maharashtra government, undertook that no further trees will be cut. A Supreme Court special vacation bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Ashok Bhushan said the legality of trees that have already been felled can be decided by the environment bench after the Dusshera vacation.

NDTV reported that the Maharashtra government said that no more trees need to be cut in Aarey as “those that needed to be removed have been cut”.The bench was constituted after a group of law students wrote to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Sunday asking the court to intervene and stop the trees from being cut. The students said they were forced to approach the Supreme Court because the Bombay high court rejected an application moved by environmentalists seeking a stay on the cutting of trees until the matter is head before the Supreme Court.

Law students Rishav Ranjan and others were represented by senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Gopal Shankaranarayanan. They argued that the issue whether Aarey is a forest or not is pending in the Supreme Court. Interestingly the state government was quick to axe the trees after the Bombay High Court dismissed the petition even when the National Green Tribunal is still considering whether the area is an eco-sensitive zone and therefore, the authorities should have refrained from cutting down trees until a decision was taken, they said.

Aarey is not only considered the  “green lung” of the city as it is one of the few areas that have dense forest cover but the #SaveAarey movement has captured the imagination of activists and citizens alike. There are also 27 Adivasi padas within Aarey.. Both the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation and the BJP-run state government have maintained that Aarey is not a forest area and hence the trees can be axed.

Background
After the Bombay high court on Friday refused to declare the Aarey Colony a forest area. It also declined to quash a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decision allowing the felling of over 2,600 trees in the suburban green zone for a metro car shed.However, the court’s Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog had orally observed that he hoped authorities will not start cutting the trees before the petitioners moved the Supreme Court, according to reports.

In 24 hours since 9 pm on Friday, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) cut as many as 2,134 trees in Aarey Milk Colony.  On Saturday, the Mumbai Police arrested 29 people and imposed prohibitory orders in and around Aarey Colony, where protesters camped for 24 hours to prevent the felling of trees. In what is being seen as a callous and hasty move, implements to brutally axe trees were silently brought in to the Aarey area even while the Bombay High Court was in session on Friday and the petitions were actually rejected.

The Shiv Sena, which runs the BMC and is a partner in the state government, has vehemently protested the decision to cut the trees. Other opposition parties have also voiced their support for the protests. Prakash Ambedkar of the Vanchir Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) staged a huge protest on Sunday and was detained, too.
 
 

The post Stop Felling of Trees in Mumbai’s Aarey until further Orders, release activists: SC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“That a special bench has been constituted to hear the matter tomorrow, ie October 7, at 10 a.m., on the basis of a letter dated October 6, 2019 addressed by Rishav Ranjan with regard to the felling of trees in Aarey forest, state of Maharashtra which has been registered as a public interest litigation.” The notice does not indicate which bench will be hearing the matter.

Meanwhile, by  the afternoon on Sunday the 29 young persons indiscriminately arrested by the Mumbai police were released on bail while the prohibitory orders in and around Aarey Colony continued.

Twenty-nine people got bail on Sunday after they were arrested  for protesting against the felling of trees for a metro car shed in Mumbai’s Aarey colony. The bail order was read out in releaf by parents and activists who have been supporting the #Save Aarey movement. The bail order may be read here:

Through the mid afternoon of Sunday, hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered at Aayer, around the area that was cordoned off. Senior Dalit leader, Prakash Ambedkar was detained by the police. He is also the chief of the recently formed Vanchit Bahujan Aghadhi (VBA) that has been contesting several seats in Maharashtra.

In 24 hours since 9 pm on Friday, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) cut as many as 2,134 trees in Aarey Milk Colony.  On Saturday, the Mumbai Police arrested 29 people and imposed prohibitory orders in and around Aarey Colony, where protesters camped for 24 hours to prevent the felling of trees. In what is being seen as a callous and hasty move, implements to brutally axe trees were silently brought in to the Aarey area even while the Bombay High Court was in session on Friday and the petitions were actually rejected.

Activist closely associated with the #SaveAarey movement, Amrita Bhattacharjee tweeted:

@ConserveAarey @saveaarey Sahir and her mother are standing on JVLR to protect Aarey. Sahir’s father Shashi Sonawane got detained 2 days back in Aarey. He has not met his father since then. #SaveAarey #SaveAareyForest https://t.co/2MDVcGEcBa

Prakash Ambedkar was detained by police at the Powai entry of Aarey.

Prohibitory orders continued to be in force in Aarey Colony and surrounding areas for the second day. Heavy security was deployed at Aarey Colony’s five entry points, including the key connecting road near the Western Express Highway, to prevent people from going towards the area and to avoid any untoward incident, PTI reported.

Most of the shops, restaurants and roadside stalls remained closed in the area in view of the imposition of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), banning unlawful assembly, since Saturday.

The felling began Friday night, hours after the Bombay High Court dismissed four petitions challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation permission to cut 2,646 trees on 33 hectares of land at Aarey for the construction of a Metro Line 3 rake depot.

Patrolling was stepped up in the tribal hamlets located in Aarey area and those found assembling there were being taken into custody, but later let off after proper verification, police said.
 
Related Articles:

1. A tale of greed and cowardice: Trees cut in Aarey in the dead of the night!

The post #SaveAarey protest: SC to hear matter Suo Motu,: 29 protesters released on bail appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As word of trees being felled surreptitiously in the dead of the night got out, social media became abuzz with videos of large trees falling to the ground with reverberating thuds, shaking Mumbaikars out of their slumber and forcing them out of the comfort of their homes onto the street.

Activists, students and even ordinary citizens started gathering at the spot shocked at the impunity with which the state went about cutting trees. But the Devendra Fadnavis government was ready with police vans and even women officers. Overnight 31 people including 9 women were detained and taken to Dahisar police station. 8 others were taken to Aarey police station. The arrested people included tribals and activists.

When our crew reached Aarey early on Saturday morning, we could not go inside at all due to the deployment of police personnel.

Senior journalist Sahil Joshi tweeted this list of people who were arrested. Many of them are in their early 20s and have been slapped with non-bailable sections of the law in an apparent bid to intimidate them.

Section 144 was imposed in the area on Saturday, making possible the arrest of many peaceful protesters, and even some residents of the area who were unable to go home and were caught by the police. When parents of arrested students went to make inquiries with the police, the cops allegedly manhandled and pushed them. Listen to this woman who is a resident of Aarey. Her son who is in his early 20s was on his way back home from work was arrested by the police and booked under serious sections of the law.

Lawyers from environmental groups, political parties and civil society organisations then flocked to the Borivali magistrate’s court where the arrested activists and students were produced. However, the court denied bail to 29 activists and sent them to judicial custody. The next hearing is on Monday, which means they will have to spend two nights in prison. Hear what advocate Sanjay Pande had to say:

According to Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon, “BMC putting out an order during elections is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Also, acting on an order before 15 days cooling period of its online publishing is a violation of the Tree Act as well as of Bombay HC order. They acted within 6 hours!”

Image: Suhel Banerjee / CJP

Image: Suhel Banerjee / CJP

Image: Suhel Banerjee / CJP

The post Aarey: Tree-cutting continues, sec 144 imposed, protesters arrested and denied bail appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Friday night trees in Aarey Milk Colony, a region regarded as Mumbai’s “green lungs”, were felled, purportedly with full blessings of the ruling dispensation. This, just hours after the Bombay High Court shockingly disposed of all petitions against the felling of over 2,700 trees to make way for a car shed for the Mumbai Metro project. CJP has been following all developments closely and here we try to explain the Aarey issue and how the Save Aarey movement has been struggling to protect the forest.

Different individuals, civil society and environmental action groups, Adivasis and forest dwellers, as well as dedicated individuals have been fighting this uphill battle against an apathetic state administration, hoping that common sense would prevail. But overpowering greed, and perhaps even arrogance, led to trees being cut in Aarey the same day they got the nod from the High Court. Though the fact that the operation took place under the cover of the dark suggests cowardice. Perhaps they thought they could get away with it, but many activists and locals caught them in the act on camera. See for yourself!

Adivasis and other activists numbering close to 200 began gathering even as news of tree cutting equipment being brought to the site spread from about 8 PM. A posse of policemen and BMC officials numbering about 80 were seen forcefully trying to stop the assembly. Protests continued, and twice the police resorted to a violent lathi charge. The protesters continued to gather at Birsa Munda Chowk. Until late in the night when CJP was closely monitoring the situation, the grossly unwarranted, hasty and even illegal felling, continued. Unconfirmed reports say that close to 400 trees were felled in just a few hours. The question remains, why this brute hurry?

A huge protest along the lines of the “Chipko”movement is planned in Aarey on Saturday morning.
 

The post A tale of greed and cowardice: Trees cut in Aarey in the dead of the night! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The #SaveAarey movement is unique. Read on to understand the Issue from both angles: Saving our Mumbai and from the votaries of a certain kind of ‘development.’

What happened today and what lies ahead
Before the Bombay High Court were three petitions, two of which were filed against the decision of the Tree Authority and one was concerned with declaration of Aarey as a “forest” in legal terms.With the Bombay High Court dismissing all petitions pertaining to Tree Authority’s decision to allow MMRCL to cut down more than 2,600 trees in Aarey Forest, the future of Aarey remains precarious.
With no stay on the felling of trees, will the MMRCL authorities begin the destructive felling rightaway?

How soon will the petitioner groups appeal this decision?

What is Aarey?
The Aarey forest, located in the Northern suburbs of Mumbai, is the only green cover in the region, and is known for its lush greenery, with tall trees, grasslands and rocky hills. Around 27 Adivasi settlements are spread across Aarey. The Adivasis have been living in the area since before the Aarey Dairy farm was set up in 1951. In the past, these Adivasis have lost chunks of the land to projects such as NSG training centre, Film City, and housing complexes, among others. Despite protesting and raising their voices.

 
What is the connection between Aarey and Metro III Project?
 The Metro III project is going to cost around Rs. 23,316 crore, and the depot is planned to be built on 34 hectares of land of Aarey which means felling down of approximately 2,700 trees. Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) is a joint venture of Government of India and Government of Maharashtra, which is implementing Mumbai’s first fully underground Metro and accordingly it seeks to build a car shed for Metro in Aarey.
 
Why are we protesting?
It isn’t everyday that people from all walks of life in a Metropolitan city come together to take a stand against demolition of its green cover. Over the past few months the protests have gained much traction and have been actively and prominently covered by news media as well. There are a lot of stakeholders who stand to being affected due to the felling of about 2,700 trees in Aarey.

The Founder of Aarey Conservation Group, which is one of the leading groups in the “Save Aarey” campaign, Ms. Amrita Bhattacharjee says that the movement started 5 years back and now a younger generation has started partaking in the protests.

The Aarey forest is home to varied species of flora and fauna and also wildlife. Felling of trees here would mean encroachment which could lead to destruction of a well bred ecosystem.
 
How are we protesting?
People from many walks of life, concerned citizens formed a three kilometre long human chain, in September 2019 to protest against the felling of the trees. The human chain became a trend thereafter and people started gathering and forming a chain, every Sunday of the following weeks. The issue also inspired three young rappers to take up the cause and express their anguish and concern in a rap video

Who will be directly affected due to construction of the Metro car shed?
Aarey is home to Adivasis, majorly Warli Tribe, living in 27 hamlets since generations. Naturally, they have a staunch opinion against the construction of the Metro shed.
See the full story on what the Adivasis are fighting for here: Aarey Adivasis demand forest rights, implementation of FRA

Prakash Bhoir is a fiery Adivasi activist from Aarey, whose consistent initiatives have helped shed light on the condition of Adivasis in this forest. Per Bhoir, the multiple development projects in the area have impacted Adivasis’ farming, their cattle, as well as the wildlife. Bhoir remarks that any time one talks about the supposed development projects, it is the Adivasis who are sacrificed at the altar of this development.

Is Aarey a Forest?
During the hearing of the PIL filed by Vanashakti, to declare Aarey as a forest, before the Bombay High Court, petitioner activists told the Hon’ble High Court that a ‘survey’ to determine the area’s ‘forest status’ was conducted through a view from a hillock in 1997. Since the term “forest has not been defined in the Indian Forest Act (1980) and Forest Conservation Act (1927), one cannot be certain. There are no specific parameters to determine a forest area in Maharashtra despite of a 1997 Supreme Court order directing states to identify forests within their territory. During the hearing, a renowned botanist, Dr. Rajendra Shinde said that out of the list of 80 species of trees in Aarey 30 are indigenous and typical forest species and also added that as every tree has different varieties of organisms on it, every tree is an ecosystem in itself.

The Mystery of the Tree Authority and its decision
In August 2019, MMRCL put its proposal for cutting down trees for the Metro III car shed before the Tree Authority which comprised of a panel of three experts. As per a news report by Outlook India, the Authority’s decision granted MMRCL permission for felling 2,702 trees of which 2,238 were proposed to be cut and the rest were to be transplanted. However, the manner in which this decision was taken is contentious since one of the experts claimed that due to there being a lot of commotion, hervote was misconstrued.According to a report by The Times of India, she stated “The was a lot of confusion. Some people were demanding more time. When the proposal was passed, I was under the impression that it was to take the decision later. But after some time, I realisedit was for the Metro proposal. We did not have any time to clarify as there was a lot of commotion.” Few other members of the Tree Authority alleged that there are discrepancies in the tree inventory data
 
Legal Background of the issue
NGO Vanashakti had approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the felling of trees by MMRCl for Metro III car shed. The NGT, however, asked the petitioner NGO to approach the High Court or the Supreme Court claiming it doesn’t have the jurisdiction to decide whether Aarey was a forest.

NGO Vanashakti had approached the Bombay High Court seeking a declaration that entire 1280 hectare area of Aarey Colony as ‘reserved Forest’ or a ‘Protected Forest’ as the case may be, under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.The decision of this petition would have proved to be extremely significant in the background of another petition with the Bombay High Court contending permission given by the Tree Authority’s to cut about more than 2,600 trees. The petition was, however, dismissed by the Bombay High Court citing that a petition raising the same question was decided in the negative by a Bench of the same Court and appeal is pending before the Supreme Court of India.

The judgment can be read here

Two other petitions were filed by environmental activist Zoru Bathena as well as by a BMC Corporator one Mr. Yashwant Kamlakar Jadhav against the decision of the Tree Authority permitting cutting down of more than 2,600 trees. The Bombay High Court dismissed both petitions and it stated in its judgment that “the fact that the proposal of the project proponent was scaled down with reference to the number of the trees to be felled is itself proof of the decision making process being fair, transparent and based on reason.” The Court, in its judgment dismissing both petitions, concluded, “the Greens fail even in these two petitions, but not on account of sailing their boats in the wrong channel, but on merits.”

The judgment can be read here

Is there no other land for the Metro project?
In 2016, the Save Aarey Group had identified land in Kanjurmarg, near Jai Ambe Nagar as an alternative site for the metro car shed and suggested the same to the government for consideration. Thereafter, it became known that this plot is free from litigation and can be used to locate the Metro 3 car shed. The occupier was trying to sell the land or create a third party interest on it. Kindly note that the said land falls under CRZ 1 and the same is shown in the DP maps.

The Hindustan Times, in its edition on January 17 had reported that city suburban collector in a first of its kind decision had taken back 66 acres of government land in Kanjurmarg that had been leased to a private company for industrial development in 1984, following violation of lease agreement. The estimated value of this land is now Rs3,000 crore.

Before the Bombay High Court, activist and petitioner Zoru Bhathena had raised a contention that the MMRCL and BMC had the alternative of constructing the Metro car shed in Kanjurmarg and the government was in possession of close to 1,668 hectare land and only 242 hectare was under litigation, while Metro car shed required only 41 hectare.

NGO petitioners battling the issue in the courts thereafter urged government to accept this “win win” situatio which would not just save trees but also allow the MMRCL to develop the metro rail corridor.

Alas, the government refused to yield.

Poster Wars

The juxtaposition of justification of the project and the protest against it, in pictures:

The protestors point of view

The Supporters’ point of view:

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