Commendable Letter from Left Trade Union Seeking Protection of Bombay’s Arrey Colony Reserve Forest

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

05th July 2022

To,

Shri Bhupender Yadav

The Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Government of India,

New Delhi.

Dear Shri Bhupender Yadav ji,

You must be aware that a metro line is being laid in the city of Mumbai under the coalition government led by Shri Devendra Fadnavis and in the earlier plans a metro car shed was supposed to be in a place called Arrey Colony, Goregaon East, with dense greenery. In 2019, suddenly more than 2000 trees were cut down and the process was stayed thereafter by an order of the Supreme Court.

There was a change of government in Maharashtra in 2019 and a proposal came to shift the metro car shed from Arrey Colony to the salt pans of Mumbai. But the proposal got delayed due to the question of jurisdiction on the salt pans. In the mean time Arrey Colony was declared a reserve forest.

Now with the change of government, backed by the BJP, the proposal to build the car shed In Arrey Colony has been revived and there is a clear danger of losing what little greenery Mumbai has for the sake of the so called development.

This is to request you to take cognisance of these developments and preserve the greenery in Mumbai by preventing the construction of metro car shed in Arrey Colony. We trust you will do the needful.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Sukumar Damle

National Secretary-AITUC