After mid-day exposed how debris was being illegally dumped on forest land in Aarey Milk Colony, a total of four dumpers filled with mud and stone were removed from the site on Sunday. The forest department is working to restore the area to its original condition. To prevent future incidents, senior officials at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) have instructed staff to intensify patrolling in the region and to take strict action against anyone found attempting to harm the forest.

Sources from the forest department told mid-day that the Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Wildlife West, Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar, as well as SGNP Director and Conservator of Forest (CF) Anita Patil, had clearly instructed the officials concerned to take stringent action against those responsible for dumping stone and mud in Aarey forest. Pradeep Chavan, the range forest officer of SGNP’s Tulsi range, without wasting any time, also made sure to visit the site, and a preliminary offence report (POR) was registered in the case.