MMRDA's Metro Plans Will Disrupt Adivasi Lives

The Save Aarey campaign for preserving Mumbai's green lungs from the MMRDA's metro development plans, has picked up momentum. But, 8,000 tribals who call this green space their home, are still unaware of it.

In Mumbai's Aarey Milk Colony, 28 adivasi padas have existed for generations away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. The villages, such as Vanichapada, Borichapada and the pada nearest to the picnic point in Aarey, lack footpaths, proper internal roads, water and electricity supply. While other residents of the suburb of Goregaon have been vociferously protesting against the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's (MMRDA) plans of felling of 2,298 trees for a metro car shed, these tribals are struggling for their basic survival. If these development plans are implemented, they will lose out on their homes.