Exclusive photographs show adult leopard resting on a rock right next to proposed Metro yard in Aarey Colony, a place MMRCL officials stubbornly refuse to accept as wildlife area
The rock on which the leopard sat (foreground) directly overlooks the Metro III car shed site
For three years, the Metro authorities have insisted that there is no wildlife near the Metro III car depot site in Aarey Milk Colony. But mid-day has an exclusive picture that punctures this claim. Take a look at this picture of a leopard lounging on a rock directly overlooking the Metro plot.
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The nature lover who clicked the picture a few days ago, said this spot is just a stone's throw from the construction site. This paper had reported as far back as 2015 that the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) had claimed in its Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report that the Metro III project would not endanger wildlife in Aarey Colony since there was none near the car depot site.
By making this misleading claim, the Metro authorities ensured they got nearly Rs 5,000 crore in funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which only gives the nod to projects that are environment-friendly.
A photo of the Metro plot taken from the rock where the leopard was spotted
So close to the site
A few days ago, a nature lover clicked a picture of a leopard barely metres away from the car depot site. The leopard was relaxing on a hillock that gave him a bird's eye view of the plot. The photographer, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had received information that a leopard had snatched a dog from somebody's home in Navapada, just 200 metres from the car shed site. Seeing this as an opportunity to collect and document evidence of a wildlife sighting right next to the Metro plot, the wildlife lover rushed to the spot with his camera.
"In the EIA report, MMRC claimed there is no wildlife in Aarey. There is plenty of proof of wildlife here, but the authorities still ignore the facts. I wanted to get proof that there is a leopard so close to the car depot site. I visited Navapada after the dog was attacked, and on the second day, I was successful in taking this picture of an adult male leopard sitting on a hillock adjacent to the car depot site," he said.
Dog snatched just 200 m away
The dog was tribal resident Ramesh Vayde's pet. The leopard was so smart that it managed to grab the dog that was chained outside Vayde's house around 7 pm, at a time when local residents were awake and active. As the big cat approached it, the dog barked. Vayde stepped out and was shocked to spot the wild animal. "The dog was beloved to me. We yelled, but the leopard took him away into the bushes near the hillock. I wanted to bury my dog, and so we went there later and found the half-eaten body," he recalled.
Prakash Bhoir, a tribal leader from Aarey, said, "Aarey Milk Colony is a forest and the rich biodiversity of the area proves this. The leopard attack near the car depot site proves the existence of wildlife." He added that while the Metro site was on leopard territory, locals fear that the Metro authorities will take their land, too, for Metro-related work. Repeated attempts to contact MMRC for a comment went unanswered.
Need more proof?
Activists, photographers and locals have presented multiple photographs that prove that Aarey is home to not just leopards but several species of wildlife, including a R1-crore snake — the rare red sand boa — that was discovered just 700 metres from the car depot site in 2015. A camera trapping study by the Wildlife Institute of India also found that there are at least two leopards that inhabit or frequent the colony, while another 33 leopards reside in the adjoining Sanjay Gandhi National Park and surrounding areas.
Also Read: Activists slap three complaints on MMRC over Aarey work
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