Mumbai’s 800 Acres Aarey Declared Forest

Mumbai Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday has declared the 800 acres land in Aarey as a reserve forest. He added that the construction of the controversial car shed for a Metrorail project in the area would be shifted to Kanjurmag.

The proposed car shed in Aarey had led to a bitter row in September and October last year between environmental activists and the then BJP-ruled Maharashtra government, which wanted to cut down 2,700 trees to build the shed.

"This uncertainty over the car shed is over now. Biodiversity in Aarey needs to be to protected. There is an 800-acre jungle in an urban set-up… Mumbai has natural forest cover," he said.

Furthermore, he ordered the withdrawal of all police cases filed against people who protested against the cutting down the trees in Aarey.

Environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, after the reserve forest announcement was made, he tweeted – "Aarey saved!"

Last year, a huge controversy broke out over the then Maharashtra government's decision to cut down trees in Aarey colony in order to build a car shed for a Metrorail project. The area is a vast green forest with lakhs of trees and also home to a wide variety of animals and birds.

The Aarey protests became a bone of contention between BJP and Shiv Sena with Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya Thackeray expressing opposition to Aarey trees being cut down.