Aarey Colony tribals to hold anti-rehab march

Mumbai: The tribals of Aarey Milk Colony will be holding a protest against the state government, seeking better welfare for their community. Tribals from around 27 hamlets will be joining the demonstration on May 28 to assert that they will not move from Aarey to any rehabilitation buildings.

The tribals of Naushada Pada have also said they have been deprived of electricity and water for years despite pleading to the state time and again. “We have not been provided even basic facilities like electricity for years. We have even written to the Prime Minister on the matter. When the Adani Electricity Mumbai was approached for the same, it claimed that the veterinary college nearby was not giving them an NOC,” said Rakesh Shivgan, a tribal from Naushada Pada.

Many tribals fear displacement due to the upcoming projects like Metro car shed and the biological zoo in the colony and claim that they are wrongly termed slum dwellers by the project proponents. “There are repeated claims by project proponents and politicians that we will be shifted to SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) buildings, but we are not slum dwellers. We are indigenous to Aarey and have been cultivating our farmlands here by paying Rs 1 per guntha (six acres and a third) plot for years,” said Prakash Bhoir, a tribal from Ketlipada.

Adivasis of the Warli tribe have stated that instead of rehabilitation, they should be provided basic facilities under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Tribals of all the 27 hamlets that consist of around 8,000 adivasis will gather at Aarey dairy from where they will commence the long march up to the Bombay Veterinary College at Goregaon. They will also submit a letter with all the demands to Aarey’s chief executive officer, which they said, should be conveyed to the chief minister.

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