Sule welcomes Maha govt's move to reserve Aarey land as forest

NCP MP Supriya Sule on Thursday thanked the Maharashtra government for its decision to reserve 600-acre Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in suburban Mumbai as forest.

Sule said while they all support development, it cannot be achieved at the cost of the environment.

Her party is an ally of the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government, which on Wednesday decided to reserve 600-acre Aarey land near SGNP as a forest and conserve it.

Chief Minister Thackeray said the forest would be the first example of a "huge jungle" being conserved at the centre of a megapolis.

Welcoming the decision, Sule said, "Whilst we are all supportive on developmental issues, the same cannot be done at the cost of the environment. Thanking Govt. of Maharashtra declaring the 600 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park as forest," tweeted Sule, who is the Lok Sabha member from Baramati in Pune.

Thackeray on Wednesday said this jungle will be the "first instance of an extensive forest blossoming within the limits of a metropolis anywhere in the world".

The land of reserved forest excludes the area on which the controversial Metro car shed project in Aarey Colony is taking shape.

The forested Aarey Colony in suburban Goregaon is a prominent green lung of Mumbai.