Mumbai: Illegal Debris Dumping Continues Inside SGNP, Tribals & Activists Wait At Aarey Forest For Authorities To Take Action

Mumbai: At least three dumpers unloaded construction debris in Aarey Forest, Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) on Wednesday evening, environmental activists said.

Activist Amrita Bhattacharjee's Statement

"The illegal dumping has took place in Aarey Forest area from 4:06 pm to 4:21 pm and atleast three dumpers unloaded here. The tribals living in the area said that dumping has been going on since Sunday, October 29. This is a gross violation of Forest Act 1927 and Forest Conservation Act 1980," said activist Amrita Bhattacharjee, who was waiting at the spot for over two hours on Wednesday waiting for authorities to take action.

Bhattacharjee said, "The contractor insisted that they have permission from the forest department to carry on the work. However the permission letter accessed by us shows no permission for dumping truckload of soil. This is to change the topography of the area and we are afraid, this will damage the fragile ecology of the forest."

Activists said that at the time there were waiting for officials from SGNP to carry out a panchama, two more trucks reached the spot. "A forest official Ankush Jadav reached the site around 4:25 pm but until late evening, no work has been stopped and no panchanama was made," the activist said.

Another resident Nishant Bangera said on X tagging the Mumbai police and the forest department, "There is huge dumping happening in the forested area of SGNP, destroying the topography of the region. Despite complaints, no one has taken any action!"Bhattacharjee added that despite reaching out to Chief Forest Conservator of SGNP, Anita Patil, no action was taken.When the FPJ called Patil on Thursday morning, she said she was busy. 

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