![Aarey Colony Grassland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Aarey_Colony_Grassland.jpg)
Aarey Forest or Aarey Milk Colony is a rich
urban forest
An urban forest is a forest, or a collection of trees, that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense, it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. As opposed to a forest park, whose ec ...
which is within the eco sensitive zone of
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park, also known as SGNP, is an protected area in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in 1969 with its headquarters situated at Borivali.
The 2400-year-old Kanheri caves, sculpted by monks out of the rocky basalti ...
(SGNP). It is classified as mixed moist deciduous type forest. It acts as a buffer between SGNP and the city, being one of the few green spaces (spread over 2000 acres) left in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
. On 3 September 2020, the Maharashtra government declared one fifth of the Aarey Colony, an area of approximately 600 acres, as a reserved forest.
The forest is a neighbourhood situated in
Goregaon (East), a suburb of the city of
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, India. It was established in 1949 to revolutionize the processing and marketing of dairy products in the city.
Flora and fauna
Aarey Forest has an array of wild life and several species of insects, butterflies and birds. It has at least 86 species of trees and 22 species of birds. A recent report submitted to the state highlights the rich biodiversity inside Aarey.
There are about 290 species of wild life in Aarey Forest including 5 such species of animals which feature in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These vulnerable animals include leopards, Rusty spotted cat, Sambar deer, Alexandrine Parakeet and Red-wattled Lapwing.
Leopards of Aarey
Aarey is known to have potential to show human-leopard co-existence in an urban setting. There are 4 adult females named Adarsh Nagar (after the locality she used to frequent), Bindu, Chandani ( 3 legged leopard) and Luna. The leopards are monitored by camera traps, first set up in 2015. The Forest Department has joined hands with citizen groups to observe and learn about leopard behavior. An RTI has revealed that from 2016 to 2018, seven leopards have been rescued. While Aarey has been infamous for leopard attacks, research by Centre for Wildlife Studies revealed that leopards are actually afraid of humans and highlighted that poor garbage disposal and newly released leopards in a new environment have caused attacks. Vidya Athreya, an ecologist, pointed out that leopards being around was never a big issue among residents of these areas, it is only a recent demand. She also pointed out that this is an urban dwellers' issue as people in rural areas experience less attacks and no death has occurred in Ahemadnagar, for instance, despite having a higher leopard count. A leopard was allegedly carrying away a 4-year-old boy in Aarey Colony, The boy was rescued after alert locals intervened in the nick of time.
Species of Aarey
Aarey contributes about 90 species of butterflies (including plain tiger, striped tiger, common crow, chocolate pansy, common Mormon, 8 species of reptiles, 12 amphibian species, 77 different avifauna (birdlife) species, and 6 species of venomous snakes. Caecilian, a rare snake-like amphibian, was also discovered in the interiors of Aarey.
Discovery of new species
2019: a spider was discovered, ''Jerzego sunillimay''. This is the first ever species of the genus Jerzego whose taxonomic details, mating behaviour, and egg development have been documented. It is the fourth species under this genus in the world and second from India.
2017: two species of jumping spiders, ''Langelurillus onyx'' and ''Langelurillus lacteus'', were discovered. Published in a journal Zootaxa, claims significance in terms of biogeography as a first for any African genus spider species discovered in Asia
2016: the first ground-dwelling gecko, ''Cyrtodactylus varadgirii'', discovered from Aarey in the last 130 years from India
2014: a species of tarantula, ''Heterophrictus aareyensus'', discovered spotted near the government guesthouse having similarity to tarantula species from the African continent
2012: a trapdoor spider, ''Idiops rubrolimbatus'', discovered and published in the Journal of Arachnology
2011: a species of scorpion, ''Lychas aareyensis'', discovered and published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
** In all there are 90 different types of spiders, including five species of tarantulas and six species of scorpions
Tribes of Aarey Forest
There are around 27 tribal hamlets (known as ''padas'' in Marathi) and other smaller hamlets in Aarey. Some of tribes that the original inhabitants belong to are Katkaris, Mahadev Kolis,
Malhar Kolis and Warlis The tribal in the area farm and cultivate various fruits and vegetables among other which are then sold in markets for a livelihood. They have suffered on account of basic amenities not provided by the government and also the rapid degradation of the forest and drive to displace tribes has impacted their sustainable lifestyle and means of livelihood.
Aarey as an archaeological site
In the Mumbai-Salsette exploration project, BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) and CEMS (Centre for Extra-Mural Studies) have found relics, tribal artefacts dating back to the
Shilahara Dynasty
The Shilahara Kingdom ( IAST: Śilāhāra; also Sinhara, Shailahara, Shrilara, and Silara) was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra (Kolhapur) d ...
/ Sheelar Yadav Period (765 - 1029 AD) in Aarey. These findings threw new light on Aarey as an archaeological site and having significant historical and cultural importance. The team (consisting of 6 experts and 40 archeology students) found remains of old settlements and a Kuldevi worship spot of the Malhar Koli community at Ultan Pada. Apart from this, they also found five Gaodevi statues, a vaghoba (lion) statue, a kichaka (pillar bracket) worshiped as a Ganesha statue and an unidentified statue. Remains of Diggar temple were also found from the same period. Only 7 padas were covered in this exploration and the experts have stated that Aarey is an unexplored site and could be important in constructing the history of Mumbai. The investigated padas include Kelti pada, Marol police quarters, picnic spot, Chhota Kashmir, Marol Toll Naka and Maroshi. Another study was conducted around 2017 when construction workers found an artefact in the Metro III proposed car shed area. This pillar like structure dates back to 12th - 14th century. Many of the relics found were being used as statues of local deities and were locals were worshipping them as that. These new archaeological findings became another reason to protect the forest. Archaeologists have also found that Aarey and Prajapur used to be important towns as early as 200 BC being part of an important trade route of that time.
Aarey Milk Colony
![Jawaharlal Nehru planting a tree, Aarey Milk Colony, Bombay, 4 March 1951](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Jawaharlal_Nehru_planting_a_tree%2C_Aarey_Milk_Colony%2C_Bombay%2C_4_March_1951.jpg)
Aarey Milk Colony at
Goregaon (East) was established in 1949 and in 1951 the dairy at Aarey was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister,
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The colony was the vision of Mr
Dara Khurody
Dara Nusserwanji Khurody (2 January 1906 – 1 January 1983) was an Indian entrepreneur known for his contributions to the dairy industry of India. He worked in various private and government organization at the start of his career and also held ...
, a pioneer of dairy sector who shared the '1963 Ramon Magsaysay Award' with Dr
Verghese Kurien
Verghese Kurien (26 November 1921 - 9 September 2012), known as the "Father of the White Revolution" in India, was a social entrepreneur whose "billion-litre idea", Operation Flood, made dairy farming India's largest self-sustaining industry a ...
for revolutionizing the processing and marketing of milk in Mumbai.
![P1040060 (424000092)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/P1040060_%28424000092%29.jpg)
Aarey Forest includes 12 villages: Sai, Gundgav,
Film City Film City may refer to
* Film City, Mumbai
* Noida Film City
* Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad
* Prayag Film City
The Prayag Film City, also known as the Midnapore Film City or Chandrakona Film City or Bengal film city is an i ...
, Royal Palms, Dindoshi (Eksar Pahad), Aarey, Pahadi Goregaon, Vyraval, Kondivita, Maroshi (Marol), Parjapur, and Paspoli. In 1977, around of land was carved out from Aarey village to establish
Film City Film City may refer to
* Film City, Mumbai
* Noida Film City
* Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad
* Prayag Film City
The Prayag Film City, also known as the Midnapore Film City or Chandrakona Film City or Bengal film city is an i ...
. The colony is spread over and is located off the
Western Express Highway
The Western Express Highway, abbreviated to WEH (officially Ali Yavar Jung Marg after the former Governor of Maharashtra), is a major north–south 8-10 lane arterial road in Mumbai, India, stretching from the suburb of Mira Road to Bandra. T ...
(WEH). Among the popular attractions in Aarey are Chhota Kashmir with a lake and a picnic spot.
[
]
![High-rises visible from Aarey Milk Colony in November 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/High-rises_visible_from_Aarey_Milk_Colony_in_November_2013.jpg)
The colony also has gardens, a nursery, lakes, an observation pavilion, picnic facilities, and milk plants. 16,000 cattle are reared on of land, and 32 cattle farms.
The management of all these is outsourced to a private firm every two years.
[
] Film City is frequently used for movie shoots.
There is a road within the colony built by the Maharashtra Public Works Department that connects the WEH to
Powai
Powai (Pronunciation: əʋəiː is an upscale residential neighbourhood located in central Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on the banks of Powai Lake, and is bound by the hills of Vikhroli Parksite to the south-east, Chandivali ...
. The Aarey Colony administration earlier collected
toll
Toll may refer to:
Transportation
* Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway
** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use
** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use
** Shadow toll, ...
from the users of the road.
[
] In 2014, the
MCGM
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC; IAST: ), also known as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. It is India's richest municipal corporation. The BMC ...
took over the road and ended the collection of the toll.
[
] It is also the location of the proposed
carshed and depot for
Line 3 of the
Mumbai Metro
The Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit (MRT) system serving the city of Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region in Maharashtra, India.Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is responsible authority for maintaining the metro system ...
.
A plan was mooted in 2010 to extend the existing
Byculla Zoo in South Mumbai by building a zoo with no enclosures on land that would be acquired from both the colony as well as the adjacent
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park, also known as SGNP, is an protected area in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in 1969 with its headquarters situated at Borivali.
The 2400-year-old Kanheri caves, sculpted by monks out of the rocky basalti ...
.
[
]
Ownership pattern
![Aarey Colony](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Aarey_Colony.jpg)
The Aarey Milk Colony occupies a total area of of land, out of which the area available for cultivation of quality fodder and grasses is only. Land is also leased out to various organizations and institutions of the Maharashtra State Government and Central Government of India. Allocation of land is as follows:
# Total land given to the Central Government of India Institutions (Central Poultry Farm, Modern Bakery, NDDB, RBI)—229.92
# Total land given to the Maharashtra State Government Institutions (Mumbai Veterinary College, SRP, MHADA, MCGB, Film City, Fishery)—729.12
# Area under road and buildings—460.00
# Area uncultivated and waste land under ''
nullah
A nullah or nala ( Hindustani or "nallah" in Punjabi) is an 'arm of the sea', stream, or watercourse, a steep narrow valley. Like the wadi of the Arabs, the nullah is characteristic of mountainous or hilly country where there is little rainfall.
...
s'', lake, farm bunds, farm roads, river channels—1,020.20
# Area under lawns and gardens, para grass, and orchards— 537.00
# Land and the social forestry land, etc.—183.00
# Total—3,160.00
The main objective to erect such colony:
# Shifting of cattle/buffalo from the city limits,
# Supply of better quality milk to the citizens of Mumbai at comparatively cheaper cost, and
# Maintenance of these animals on scientific and modern animal husbandry practices.
In the colony, 30 stables are constructed having a capacity for housing 500–550 animals in each stables. Each stable has been provided with an ancillary building such as hay gawdown, chaff-cutting sheds, calving lines, and residential accommodation for the cattle owner and their staff. The private cattle owner who are maintaining their herds in the Mumbai city prior to 1949 were shifted and allotted licences to maintain their buffaloes in the colony stables. Presently, Aarey Milk Colony has got the capacity of accommodating 16,079 cattle in 30 units. The licence holders are required to pay the necessary license fee, occupation charges, water and electricity charges and other ancillary services rendered to them.
In addition to the activities of maintaining the large herds of milch animals in Aarey Colony, certain activities like running primary school for the benefit of children of residents of the Aarey Colony and running 24 bed hospital are also undertaken by Aarey authorities.
;Animal Husbandry Scheme, Cow Unit Scheme
Under this scheme, nearly 1,700 indigenous and cross-breed cows are maintained at four Dairy Farms Units. The indigenous herd is utilized for producing large numbers of cross-breed heifers which are supplied to the farmers of dairy co-operatives in Maharashtra state to augment the milk production and the generation of cross-breed herd will be utilized to study the effect of cross-breeding up to 7.5% and 6.5% exotic blood level. This study will be useful to advise the farmers in the Maharashtra state regarding the breeding policies that can be practiced by them for breeding their cross-bred progeny at the village level. Maintenance of cross-breed herds will be economic while the indigenous herds will be showing some amount of losses, but it will be a good study for future planning.
In order to increase the revenue and decrease the losses incurred, the following activities were initiated from 2001–02.
#The toll tax collection for the vehicles using the Aarey Forestmain road from
Powai
Powai (Pronunciation: əʋəiː is an upscale residential neighbourhood located in central Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on the banks of Powai Lake, and is bound by the hills of Vikhroli Parksite to the south-east, Chandivali ...
, Malad-Borivali,
Dindoshi
Dindoshi is a location in the suburb of Malad (E), in Mumbai, India.
Dindoshi houses the largest IT Park in Mumbai (Infinity IT Park), a 10-story tower block. There is a bus depot and a school, Yashodham High School, a nearby mall, Oberoi Mal ...
,
Goregaon, Andheri, Marol-Maroshi by calling the public tenders.
#The Aarey tank measuring 3–4 acres is utilized for boating purpose on fixed rent basis.
#The unutilized godowns which were earlier used for storing the fodder and concentrated animal feed are rented to various parties by calling the public tenders.
#Various stall open spoken were allotted for vendors' stalls, restaurants, general stores on rental basis.
#The agricultural produce from the various trees. E.g. Coconuts, mangoes, cashews, and
palmyra fruit, etc. were given as contractual basis.
#The various resources and by-products. E.g. Water, fodder plot, and cattle are being sold on contractual basis.
The various activities are carried out by the staff of around 640 personnel under the administrative control of Chief Executive Officer, Aarey Colony.
Issues
![Road inside Aarey Colony](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Road_inside_Aarey_Colony.jpg)
The roads within Aarey are lonely and late night travel must be avoided between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The thick vegetation hides wild animals like leopards, who usually prey upon stray dogs and feral pigs. In recent years, increased human encroachment into leopard territory and shortage of prey density in the neighbouring
SGNP have turned some leopards into
man-eater
A man-eater is an animal that preys on humans as a pattern of hunting behavior. This does not include the scavenging of corpses, a single attack born of opportunity or desperate hunger, or the incidental eating of a human that the animal has kil ...
s. On 22 December 2016, the
headless body of a 22-year-old man, Brandon Gonsalves, was found near Unit 2 of Aarey Colony. The
Mumbai Police suspected that it was a case of human sacrifice performed by some ''
tantrik'' babas. Apart from criminal activities like murders, road robberies, and occult practices, there are apocryphal tales of ghosts trying to hitch rides.
In popular culture
![Aarey forest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Aarey_forest.jpg)
A large portion of
Bimal Roy
Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 8 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as '' Do Bigha Zamin'', '' Parineeta'', '' Biraj Bahu'', ''Devdas'', ''Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' ...
's ''
Madhumati
''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in lead roles, with Pran and John ...
'' (1958) was shot in the area, to match the earlier footage shot in
Nainital
Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...
.
[
]
Controversies
Construction projects in the forest
The Indian government has proposed several major construction projects in recent years that call for the cutting down of thousands of trees in the forest. Although the locations are in a designated eco-sensitive part of the forest, the law protecting the land was changed so the land could be developed for commercial use. The largest recent projects included a car shed to provide parking for a national rail service project, and a 32-story residential project intended to house 8,000 people. The project includes a heliport and parking for 365 cars.
Proponents say the land is needed for projects that are important to local residents, and that the need outweighs environmental concerns raised by people who want to protect the forest. The government has attempted to circumvent required environmental impact assessments in order to move ahead with the projects. The car shed project was tried to be moved to Kanjurmarg.
But later in July 2022 the project was shifted back to its original place and the construction resumed when the stay order was removed on 21 July. It has been said that the carshed issue resulted in delaying the opening of the
Metro Line 3 by at least one year and also lead to cost overruns in thousands of crores in rupees.
Those who want to protect Aarey Forest say the loss to the forest of thousands of trees will lead to poorer air quality and will disrupt wildlife habitat, including that of a small population of endangered leopards. They say the housing project, which has a large concrete footprint, will lead to flooding in an urban area already prone to seasonal floods.
References
External links
Dairy Development Board of Maharashtra
{{Mumbai metropolitan area
Neighbourhoods in Mumbai