‘Rampant dumping in Film City could lead to man-animal conflict’

State minister Deshmukh said that the authorities concerned have been instructed to dispose of waste as per the rules.

It's not just Aarey Milk Colony where rampant garbage dumping is proving to be a menace. NGO Empower Foundation has found 35 garbage locations in Film City, adjacent to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), which, they claim, can have a negative impact on the environment.

Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Girija Desai, along with Empower Foundation, conducted a ground-level research on the garbage dumping menace at Film City in Goregaon, which is a hotspot for wildlife and rich biodiversity. The NGO has mapped the GPS locations of these dumping spots and shared the same with authorities, including the Forest Department, Managing Director of Maharashtra Films, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation (MFSCDC Ltd) and Minister for Medical Education and Cultural Affairs Amit V Deshmukh.

Speaking with mid-day, Dr Jalpesh Mehta, founder chairperson of Empower Foundation said, "Film City is located between SGNP and Aarey, and has a high density of wildlife like spotted deer, sambars, mouse deer, wild boars, monkeys and leopards, besides a variety of species of reptiles and birds." Mehta said they have requested the Forest department and Film City authorities to organise a one-time cleanup drive involving production houses and Bollywood celebrities, who have taken up environmental causes.

Unlike Aarey, the demography of Film City is different, he explains. Instead of 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 waste like POP, plastic, flex sheets and other material used during shootings, which attract animals, and can also lead to man-animal conflict. In the year 2017, Film City reported five leopard attacks, following which it was shut for a week.