The Struggle to Unveil The Land Scam of Aarey

Dimple Gehlot

“Aarey amcha hakkachi, nai kona cha bappachi!” (Aarey belongs to us, nobody owns it). A crowd gathered at the picnic point of Aarey, chanted. A crowd that consisted of the tribals of Aarey, the young members of Aarey Conservation Group, and others who took time out of their Sunday morning to come for this protest, gathered for one thing - saving Aarey.

Aarey was formerly covered in a thick forest with lush green trees. Sadly, some of its 3,166 acres have already been taken over for various developmental projects and unrelated enterprises in the name of development. The large open grasslands and green fields of Aarey are seen by builders and government organizations as open land at a premium rate and as opportunities to expand Mumbai and open land is at a premium.

Aarey Conservation Group (ACG) came into existence in April 2015, a year after the founder, Stalin Dayanand had joined the Save Aarey Movement. Stalin, who is also the director of an NGO called Vanashakti, wishes for only one thing, and that is to conserve the environment.

Stalin became a part of the Save Aarey Movement in 2014, but in order to take the efforts one step further and to fight the battle against the government, Stalin created the ACG. The Aarey Conservation Group is a group of individuals dedicated to preserving, enhancing, and promoting Aarey as a natural green recreational space for the residents of this city. This group is dedicated to promoting and protecting all of the city's other natural gems, including its beaches, roadside trees, parks, and mangroves.

“The value to this group is added by the various people who have joined us and become a part of this fight against the corrupt system. It is more good luck that people have joined this movement,” Stalin said. The members of this group come from all walks of life, they are homemakers, film and television writers and artists, government servants, school teachers, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs.

Back in 2014, when the metro car shed was announced, the tribals of Aarey had lost all hope. One of the locals who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Hume laga tha ki ab kuch nahi ho sakta, ab dheere dheere humari puri zameen hadap li jayegi,” (We thought nothing could be done now that our land has been gradually taken over). A tiny spark of hope was when “outsiders” started speaking up against the building of the car shed. One of the historic moments, as mentioned by her, was back in 2015, when 2500 people joined hands at Marine drive and created a human chain. Initially called an “English-speaking people’s movement” the Save Aarey Movement soon gained global traction. For this movement, celebrities, and tribals, all were under one umbrella, fighting for one cause and that was to save Aarey.

While Stalin was restricted from taking political sides, he stated that the former chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, was a man of nature while the current deputy chief minister, Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis, is a liar who has lied all along. His dislike for Fadnavis was palpable when he called Fadnavis the man who wants Aarey to be destroyed. Stalin claimed to have called out these people for open debates but someone is yet to take on this challenge. He calls this a classic case of fraudulence and one of the biggest land scams in India.

In a conversation about the constant defeat that they face, Stalin said that the law is on their side, and the truth is on their side, but sadly, it was the custodians of the law that do not deem this a fight worth fighting for, they are “defeated by the system”. “The wheels of the Indian judiciary move slowly and when they do move, it is in the government’s direction,” he said.

Initially he was in awe of the youth and their dedication towards Aarey, but Stalin now feels that they are on a journey downhill and the need of the hour is to hold on and choose to fight back. Stalin believes that the urban folks do not have a never-ending supply of time and this constant failure has taken a toll on them. In Stalin’s words, “The constant lies that the government feeds the people have exhausted them because, in the end, it is these custodians of the law that have failed to protect nature.”

“We may succeed or we may fail, but we must do this. Our shoulders are drooping now but we will go on. I know that in my lifetime or your lifetime, these people will pay, and nature will pay back to these people heavily. This is a battle well fought.”