From: [email protected] To: From: "G R Vora" <[email protected]>
21.2.2015 Dear friends, I have sent this letter (attached) to the concerned authorities as a protest against the proposal to undertake big constructions inside the eco-sensitive Aarey Milk Colony in the Development Plan 2034 document. If you too feel that we need to protest against this mega-destruction of green cover in Mumbai to protect our environment and bio-diversity, then I request you to send your protest too, to the authorities mentioned in the letter. If need be, you may replace my name and contact details with your name or your citizens' group name or NGOs name and send it as soon as possible. The letter is on this link too : https://app.box.com/s/g2gmxvbmdhgwemsfngrdnnkbsa0uw87k Hope better sense prevails. After all, Earth is the only home we have. Let's take care of it. Regards. G R Vora Sion E. Cell: 09869195785 ================ http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Campaign-to-save-2298-trees-at-Aarey-Colony-to-knock-on-NGTs-doors/articleshow/46317508.cms Campaign to save 2,298 trees at Aarey Colony to knock on NGT's doorsChaitanya Marpakwar TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror Activists are opposing MMRDA plan to build car shed by cutting trees in green zoneThe fight to save Aarey Colony's green cover might soon reach the National Green Tribunal (NGT), with activists saying they would approach the national body for relief. Citizen groups too said they are planning a multipronged online and offline campaign,.“We are protesting at multiple levels. We have sought a meeting with Additional Metropolitan Commissioner Ashwini Bhide where we will put forth our concerns regarding the proposed Metro car shed. We are also meeting Revenue Minister Ekanth Khadse to apprise him about the issue,“ said green activist Rishi Agarwal, a member of the Save Aarey group. “We are fighting against the Metro III car shed, BMC's Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), the new Development Plan proposal to have a business hub there and the proposed extension of Byculla Zoo. We are trying to build a sustained campaign, both online and offline,“ Agarwal said. Aarey Colony residents are up in arms over MMRDA's proposal to cut trees in the city's green zone to make way for a car shed depot for the Metro III project. According to MMRDA's proposal, a total 2,298 trees are obstructing the proposed car shed plan for Metro 3 and need to be transplanted and cut. Of the 2,298 trees, as many as 2,044 can be transplanted while 254 need to be cut. “We are going to move the NGT since the government doesn't seem to be sensitive to the issue. Aarey is a bustling biodiversity hub. There are hun dreds of animals, birds and animals that thrive there. It is an eco-system in itself. All this will be destroyed. We will seek relief from the NGT on the larger pretext of the Right to Life,“ said Anand Pendharkar of NGO SPROUTS. Members of the Save Aarey group met Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte last week to emphasise their objection to a Metro Yard in Aarey. Last week, a proposal for carving out a possible business district out of the lush Aarey Colony and `augmenting the institutional and public amenity requirements of the suburbs' by using some of the land mentioned in the Draft DP 2034 jolted green activists. ==========http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Netas-rise-to-protect-Mumbais-iconic-nature-park/articleshow/46328900.cms DON'T TOUCH AAREY - Netas rise to protect city's iconic nature parkSujit MahamulkarMumbaiMinister Waikar Gets Support On His Aarey StandPoliticians from all parties came out in support of Ravindra Waikar's stand on Aarey Milk Colony on Saturday, a day after the minister of state who is an MLA from the area made it clear that the preservation of the prized green lung of the city was non-negotiable.The public, too, showed an inclination to take up the issue further and plans were afoot for a strong and sustained agitation to save the Aarey jungle. The Shiv Sena, the BJP , the NCP , the Congress and other parties opposed the draft Development Plan 2014-2034 as far as the developments in Aarey were concerned. On Friday , after it was reported that the proposed developments in Aarey would leave only 14% of its 1,618.7 hectares and swallow the rest, Waikar, the minister of state for housing and MLA from Jogeshwari (E), had opposed the destruction of the colony that has served for decades as a nature park for morning walkers, bicycling enthusiasts, picnickers and urban residents looking for some peace and quiet. Waikar said he would meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and hand over a memorandum to save Aarey from the plan to build a sports complex, zoo extension, theme park, educational and health campuses, amenities including bus transit system and east-west road link, and a Metro rail car shed. “No construction should take place inside Aarey colony,“ he said. “Aarey should be intact as Aarey .“ NCP politician Dhananjay Pisal said no government would take the trouble of reintroducing natural beauty once it was destroyed. “Once trees are cut, that is it. Aarey has a natural jungle and it is for everyone. Rare trees and birds will disappear if the development happens. We will take up this issue in the BMC,“ he said. BJP city unit spokesperson Niranjan Shetty said the government would take care to keep ecological balance in Aarey . Opposition leader in the BMC Devendra Amberkar said the Metro shed and other plans could shift to salt pan land in the eastern suburbs. Rishi Agarwal, who leads a Save Aarey Campaign, plans an agitation inside Aarey at Unit 5 at 5 pm on Sunday with tribal residents and the CPI. “The vistas of Aarey are priceless,“ he said. “Topography should not be altered.“ Environment groups plan to register their objections with the BMC once it starts inviting suggestions and objections to the DP. =========https://www.veooz.com/news/QIYxlGr.html Aarey tree protest gets AAP support ======= https://www.facebook.com/aareyconservation Aarey Conservation project =========
