Dear Sir,

We are a group of environmentally concerned Indians and other citizens of the world. Our group consists of professionals and students from all walks of life. Through this letter we aim to bring to your attention the current unpleasant situation regarding the illegal encroachments within the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, otherwise known as the Borivli National Park (B.N.P.) in Mumbai.

Our Demand:

• Guarantee the safety of Borivili National Park and its forest officers from the encroachers of the national park.
• Prevent the illegal encroachers from re-establishing their colonies within the B.N.P.

The B.N.P. has for years been plagued and damaged by encroachers. The degradation of the environment within B.N.P. is only too easily visible. Many of us in the U.S.A. have been observing the laudable efforts of the B.N.P. forest officers in trying to move out these illegal encroachers from B.N.P. It is only now, after years of cajoling and coaxing that these encroachers have been evicted from the national park.

Unfortunately, these people have managed to get the support of some local politician, supposedly an M.L.A., in trying to reclaim the areas within B.N.P. where they were staying illegally. They have gone to the extent of threatening to kill the forest officials and their families. This is obviously a very irresponsible act on the part of this politician. These dwellers have absolutely no legal claim to their encroached settlements within B.N.P. Their success will only encourage many more people from Mumbai to resettle within B.N.P., eventually leading to land grabbing and total destruction of the B.N.P.

There are very significant reasons for preventing these people from re-encroaching.

1. Mumbai infrastructure crunch: Land encroachment and slums are not new to Mumbai but this is not too bad as long as it confined to the city. But if the encroachers get a foothold within B.N.P. it is bound to send signals to other people who want to encroach. The B.N.P. area, though not very large is large enough to cause an exodus into Mumbai. This is already supposed to have happened in areas such as Powai and the area between L&T and Arrey Colony. Mumbai can simply not cope with an accelerated migration aboom.
2. Life of Mumbai: Mumbai is the economic capital of India and houses a number of factories. Factory and vehicular emissions into the atmosphere is more in Mumbai than Delhi. Yet the air quality in Delhi is supposed to be more harmful to health than Mumbai. Wonder why! The answer is the presence of the B.N.P.-Vihar lake belt, which is somehow able to force the temperature and dust level to tolerable limits. A mere 15 minutes walk from Hiranandani complex to I.I.T. campus will convince any human being of the importance of foliage. Let the encroachers and their supporters have their way and we are talking of rising medical expenses and lowered life expectancy for the average Mumbaikar. For this reason alone we should not only religiously preserve B.N.P., but also plant more trees in the parks, playgrounds and open spaces within Mumbai city itself.
3. Mumbai water supply: Vihar Lake is an important source of water for Mumbai. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation has stepped up vigil around the Vihar Lake area because the number of settlers around Vihar Lake has increased considerably. Some of the hills between Vihar Lake and I.I.T. have seen massive land encroachment. The B.N.P. side of the Vihar Lake seems to have been spared (I may be mistaken here), but this will only last a short while if the B.N.P. encroachers are allowed to re-occupy their illegal camps. Encroachments around Vihar Lake will eventually lead to its shrinkage to about half its present area, within 10 years. Powai lake has already seen this at a time when pressure on land was lower than it is today. In a span of 10 years while Vihar Lake keeps shrinking, Mumbai's population will keep increasing. We would have twice as many people in Mumbai and half as much water - which implies that on an average each Mumbaikar will have access to only one-fourth of the amount of water that is available to him or her today.
4. Uniqueness of Mumbai: Mumbai stands out in the world, as the only city, state capital and national economic capital which has a national park within its geographical territory. Borivili National Park is the pride of Mumbai. Mumbaikars cannot really boast of anything else to the world, other than their love and respect for nature - of which Borivili National Park is proof.

The above mentioned reasons for saving B.N.P., by preventing the encroachers and their supporters from succeeding, are there for anyone to see. We are not merely talking of a fancy pride of Mumbai. We are worried about the infrastructure of Mumbai and the heavy price that the people of Mumbai will have to pay if the encroachers and their petty political supporters are able to reenter the Borivili National Park.