India, Oct. 19 -- Forty-eight hours after the Bombay High Court announced a high-level committee to assist with the removal of encroachers from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), state forest minister Ganesh Naik said encroachers, along with tribals, will be relocated to a 90-acre plot at Marol-Maroshi. The plot is in Aarey Colony, within the limits of the urban forest.

Naik made the announcement on Saturday, while inaugurating e-vehicle services in the park, at Borivali. The minister's statement came as a surprise as the plot in question was to house only slum-dweller encroachers. The issue of rehabilitating tribals who live in the park has always been a contentious one. The adivasis have resisted relocation attempts, pointing out ...