Hundreds of adivasis and their supporters on Tuesday blocked an anti-encroachment drive by the forest department inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), forcing officials to halt demolitions. By evening, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik ordered that all action be paused until further discussions with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The forest department had, on January 17, issued notices to at least 10 padas (hamlets) inside SGNP, warning of imminent demolitions. The notices covered 385 homes in Magathane, Malad and Gundgaon areas, describing them as “re-encroachments” houses rebuilt by families who had earlier been relocated but later returned.
The action traces back to a 1997 Bombay High Court order directing that all encroachments inside SGNP be cleared. Families whose names appeared on the electoral rolls of 1995 were to be rehabilitated. Over 10,000 families were allotted homes in Chandivali and Powai after paying Rs 7,000.
According to the Forest Department, 385 of these rehabilitated families later returned and rebuilt homes inside the park. Following a contempt petition filed in 2023 over non-compliance with the 1997 order, the High Court set up a High Powered Committee (HPC) to revive the process.
“It must be emphasised that unless persons who have misused the rehabilitation scheme are evicted, other eligible families who have been awaiting rehabilitation for a long period will continue to be deprived of the benefits envisaged under the Hon’ble Court’s order of 1997, despite the best efforts of the Government and the SGNP administration to ensure compliance,” said a statement by the chief conservator of forests and director of SGNP.
At a meeting on January 1, 2026, the HPC decided that the 385 re-encroachers would be cleared first. The committee includes Justice Dilip Bhosale, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court; Nitin Kareer, former Maharashtra chief secretary; Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, former director general of police; and Anitta Patil, IFS, conservator of forests and director of SGNP.
Families named in the notices were asked to file objections by January 24, while demolitions were scheduled between January 19 and 28. Protests intensified after Adivasi homes estimated by residents to be around 40 were included in the list. Agitations have continued for over a week.
Story continues below this ad
“On Republic Day, a day of celebration of the Constitution that gave us our rights, officials from the forest department were coming into our homes and threatening that we vacate our homes,” said Dinesh Barap, an adivasi resident of Navapada. “How are we adivasis, original inhabitants of the forest, being termed as encroachers?”
Residents said the issue of rehabilitation was complex. “Some adivasis accepted the homes, with a certain amount of coersion. But the homes of the adivasis that are being targeted right now are of their children, who already had homes before the rehabilitation was floated,” Barap said.
As bulldozers arrived on Tuesday morning, adivasis and supporters from Aarey and other parts of the city gathered at Navapada, one of the larger hamlets in SGNP. Four adivasi homes there were listed for demolition, residents said. Other padas named include Chinchpada, Tumnipada, Ravanpada and Ketlaipada, which have both Adivasi and non-Adivasi residents. Protesters also blocked demolitions of non-Adivasi structures.
“All of us remained at Navapada from 9am to 4:30pm to prevent the demolitions, till the bulldozers were retracted,” said Kiran Tokare of Ketlaipada. “A few people from a santha here met a delegation of the DCM Eknath Shinde, and got the demolitions to be paused. But this is only temporary; Forest Department officials have warned us they will return.”
Story continues below this ad
The adivasis have cited the Forest Rights Act, 2006, under which their claims are still under verification. The Forest Department, however, said those issued notices had already been rehabilitated, and maintained that no original Adivasis remain inside the park, claiming they were relocated to Dahanu by 1977.
With political intervention, the demolitions were stopped for now. Forest Minister Ganesh Naik said, “The forest department has been asked to take into consideration the issues of the tribals and their rehabilitation. Some of them will be given ground plus one homes in a 90 acre area in close proximity. For those who have returned after being rehabilitated, the rules will be explained to them.”
