Mumbai News: Citizens Launch Online Petition To Save Sanjay Gandhi National Park From Encroachments, Plastic And Stray Dog Threat

Mumbai: Citizens have started an online petition, asking the government to stop encroachments, ban plastic, and control the stray dog population in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai's green lungs.

The petition on change.org, started by Borivali resident and environmental activist Ravindra Shori, is addressed to the state environment ministry, the chief wildlife warden, the state forest department, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

The petition invokes the citizen's Constitutional duties under Article 48A for protection of the environment, and Article 51A(g), the fundamental duty to protect the natural environment, alongside mandates under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

The petition says that despite a budgetary allocation of Rs 221 crore and a 2003 High Court directive, illegal residential and commercial encroachments continue within the park's notified boundaries.

Only 49 km of the planned 154 km boundary wall has been completed, leaving large swathes vulnerable to encroachers. This unchecked growth is fragmenting wildlife corridors and accelerating habitat degradation, the petition adds.

The petition mentions an affidavit filed on July 14, 2025, before the Bombay High Court, where the SGNP Director revealed that bulldozers are being blocked by hostile crowds, highlighting a serious law enforcement vacuum.

The petition asks for the completion of full boundary demarcation within 90 days, in compliance with the 2003 court order, constitution of a state-led rehabilitation and resettlement panel to humanely relocate encroachers, ensuring legal compliance and dignity, and initiation of enforcement and prosecution under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, for wilful violation and encroachers.

The petition has also drawn attention to the plastic pollution inside the forest. In March 2024 alone, over 140 kg of plastic waste was cleared by citizen volunteers. Wild animals are being exposed to this toxic debris, often ingesting it.

The rise in the number of stray dogs, which is linked to garbage dumps created by the illegal settlements, is another problem highlighted by the petition. Viral videos and investigations confirm the presence of dog packs actively hunting vulnerable species, like deer, within park limits, said Shori.

The petitioners said that they created the representation not in confrontation, but in collaborative concern to protect a national treasure, uphold the law, and reclaim ecological balance for generations to come.

Mumbai's green lungs

Created after independence as Krishnagiri National Park in an area of 20 sq km, the park was expanded to 68 sq km in 1968 and renamed the Borivali National Park. It was further expanded to 103 sq km and named the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Of the total area, 44 sq km is within the BMC's 603 sq km area.

The forest is home to 40 species of mammals, 254 types of birds, 78 species of reptiles and amphibians, 150 kinds of butterflies, and over 1300 varieties of trees. The forest also houses the Kanheri rock-cut monument, ranging from the 1st to the 10th century.

The park makes Mumbai one of the few cities in the world to have a forest within its boundaries. There is also a petition seeking UNESCO heritage status for the park.