Mumbai: ‘Junk from film shoots posing threat to wildlife’

SNGP officials and volunteers at Film City in Goregaon on Tuesday

Junk from film shoots such as plastic bottles, thermocol and pieces of wood is posing a serious threat to wildlife and ecology at Film City in Goregaon East. Forest department officials and volunteers frequently come across this waste. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) administration intends to address this issue by writing to the managing director of Film City.

Garbage dumped in the area, which is home to several production houses as well as wildlife species

Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Sudhir Sonawale said, "While on foot patrol in Film City on Tuesday morning, SGNP officials and a team of volunteers observed garbage such as plastic bottles, plastic waste, wooden debris and materials related to filming activities being dumped. This waste poses a threat not only to the forest but also to wildlife. We will be writing to the Film City authorities, urging them to address the issue seriously, ensure the garbage is removed and prevent future dumping." Around 40 forest department officials and volunteers took part in the exercise and a total of five teams roamed the area.

In February 2022, NGO, Empower Foundation found 35 garbage dump sites in Film City, which, they claimed, could have a negative impact on the environment. Film City is located between SGNP and Aarey and is inhabited by spotted deer, sambars, mouse deer, wild boars, monkeys and leopards, besides a variety of species of reptiles and birds.

The demography of Film City is different to that of Aarey Milk Colony. Instead of a large number of slums and tribal padas, the area is home to a huge number of production houses, which allegedly dump left-over food and plaster of Paris and plastic items as well as flex sheets and other material used during shoots, which attract wildlife and can also lead to man-animal conflict. In 2017, Film City reported five leopard attacks, following which it was shut for a week.