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600 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park reserved as forest: CM Uddhav Thackeray

CMO Maharashtra took to Twitter to share the decision, and said, "this will be the first instance of an extensive forest blossoming within the limits of a metropolis anywhere in the world."

600 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park reserved as forest: CM Uddhav Thackeray
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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on September 2, held a meeting with Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Rathod, Eknath Shinde, and other ministers from the cabinet, post-which he announced one of the remarkable developments for the city of Mumbai. The Chief Minister on Wednesday announced that the government has decided to reserve 600 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) as a reserve-forest.

A statement regarding the same was released by the ministry. This development makes Mumbai as the first city in the world to have a vast forest in the heart of the city. Addressing more with regards to the same, CM Thackeray confirmed that the decision also included the important decisions about the tribal community living in the forest, and the government has taken necessary steps to protect their rights.

The news was announced by the team on CMO Maharashtra's official Twitter handle, with a message that read, "600 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park will be reserved as forests. This will be the first instance of an extensive forest blossoming within the limits of a metropolis anywhere in the world."

Environment Minister of the state, Aaditya Thackeray, also took to Twitter to share more details, and said, "A meeting held by Hon’ble CM Uddhav Thackeray ji with Aarey, Forest& Environment Depts has decided to apply Section 4 of IFA to approximately 600 acres in Aarey land near SGNP. This implies that it will be declared a reserve forest after a hearing for suggestion/ objections."

Information shared by Aaditya Thackeray revealed that the survey for the project will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will include protecting the rights of the tribal communities and rehabilitation of slums within the area. Post this, the second phase will be planned to understand the additional open/forest land in Aarey and the protection of flora and fauna in SGNP and Aarey.

As of now, Section 4 has been imposed on the reserved forest area, and with this, all the projects related to construction, roads, hutments and more, as well as other government facilities, will be excluded from the first phase. Officials from the Forest Department. will also have to submit the proposal related to the first phase. Meanwhile, the government will also seek suggestions and objections from the citizens, and the report will be prepared in 45 days. 

A presentation related to this important decision was submitted by Aaditya Thackeray at Varsha, and the initiative was taken by Maharashtra Dairy Development Minister Sunil Kedar. Other members of the cabinet and related departments attended the meeting with the Chief Minister.

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