MUMBAI, June 12 -- The Maharashtra government has handed over the Aarey Colony Hospital to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on a 30-year lease, following a 2022 suo motu case by the State Human Rights Commission and mounting pressure in the legislature. Originally set up for workers of the Aarey Dairy-the largest among Mumbai's three dairies-the hospital had fallen into disrepair as the workforce declined from 600 to 65. However, nearly one lakh people still live in Aarey, including 27 tribal hamlets and 32 slum clusters. The hospital, spread over 1,932 sq metres, had received Rs.1.1 crore for upgrades last year. The BMC had initially requested five acres but agreed to take over the existing facility. Previously used for emergencies like snake bites and leopard attacks, patients are now referred to Jogeshwari's trauma hospital. Activist Sanjay Valsan welcomed the move, urging the BMC to stock antivenom and take charge of Aarey's fire station to better handle forest fires and local emergencies....