Landfilling Going On at Huge Scale Inside Aarey at Night

There have been several reports and a number of environmental activists in Mumbai have urged the State government as well as environment secretary to halt the landfilling design at Aarey because waste is being placed on the Mithi river’s lowland and catchment area, which can be dangerous and pose significant flood tide hazards.

In March 2022, the complaint was registered stating that the illegal landfill is passing near Aarey Colony. The warning was given after the incident. Since the beginning no similar work has seen to be happening.

Recently, in a two- acre area near Mithi river channel, outside the planned metro station, hundreds of trucks have ditched mud, elevating the ground position by nearly 15 bases. Some of the 50- foot-tall trees are now completely buried by the dropped earth, leaving just their canopies visible.

Aarey Forest or Aarey Milk Colony is located in Sanjay Gandhi National Park's eco sensitive zone. Back in 1977, around 200 hectares of Aarey timber was cleared to make space for the Film City. The timber is home to rich biodiversity which is being damaged as a consequence of the development systems. In September 2020, the government declared 800 acres of Aarey Colony as forest.

There was no response from the State officers on the illegal landfilling, while Vanshakti, an NGO, initiated a step and wrote about the matter to Mumbai Suburban collector, to get a quick response. The collector officer said "First we need to do an on site inspection and then only we can arrive at the conclusion of what action should be taken''.

Sanjiv Valsan, an activist with Save Aarey and Rewilding Aarey movements, also handed videotape of construction spots where material was being unloaded by the sloggers. The forest department was instructed to probe allegations of illegal landfilling along the Mithi River's banks in Aarey Colony on Sunday by the Chief Minister's Office( CMO). The fact that the forest department can now be enlisted to help defend Aarey is comforting, but it remains to be seen if they will be suitable to stop the detriment.