Kisan Bhagat is a Warli Adivasi. His family has been staying in Debicha Pada for many generations and has been cultivating paddy in their farm land. Kisan Bhagat’s father paid rent to Aarey Administration once Aarey Milk Colony was created by taking land from different revenue villages in 1949. Post formation of the Aarey Colony Adivasi Families were asked to pay rent to the Aarey Administration to continue with the cultivation in their land.
Kisan Bhagat’s family have receipts from Aarey Administration since the early 1960’s.
In 1969 Mumbai Chitra Nagari was given land from Bombay Dairy Scheme, Aarey Colony to establish Filmcity. Kisan Bhagat’s family continued to pay rent till the 1990’s to the Aarey Administration. In 2000 Aarey Administration stopped collection of rent from the Adivasi Hamlets across Aarey.
Filmcity administration wanted to takeover Kisan Bhagat’s Farmland to build film sets. Kisan Bhagat’s family has been resisting the takeover for a year. Kisan Bhagat’s wife is a cancer patient. Last year they couldn’t do any paddy farming. This year many Adivasi families came together to help Bhagat’s family to cultivate their land.
Today around 35 Adivasi men and women gathered near Kisan Bhagat’s land to safeguard that farm land.
In the morning the police first detained around 15 to 20 Adivasi Women and put them in a police van. Later on 4 Adivasi women and 2 men were taken to the Vanrai Police station. They are still at the Police Station.
Kisan Bhagat has filed claims on his farm land under the Forest Rights Act 2006. The decision on the claim is still pending. It should be noted that Filmcity shares boundaries with the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Aarey Forest and Adivasi families have been staying in the forested areas of Mumbai over many centuries.
Bhagat’s family have made many attempts to file a police complaint under the Atrocities Act but the Aarey Police Station hasn’t taken any action but today Filmcity was given police protection to destroy Bhagat family’s farm land.
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