Mumbai: A demolition drive inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) was halted on Tuesday (January 27) evening following strong resistance from Adivasi residents, activists and supporters, amid allegations that forest authorities are attempting to displace tribal communities without due process. The suspension came after a day-long protest and political intervention, even as armed police restricted public access to the park.The forest department’s move to clear what it termed “illegal encroachments” in the Navapada area triggered widespread anger among Adivasi residents, who say they are being criminalised for living on ancestral land. Hundreds of residents, along with activists and supporters, gathered inside the park on Tuesday morning to oppose the demolitions. Police deployment was stepped up, park gates were shut to visitors, and a tense standoff continued until evening, when the administration paused the drive.Claims of “re-encroachment” and 1997 high court orderThe notices issued on January 17 targeted ten Adivasi settlements inside SGNP, affecting 385 families across Magathane, Gundgaon and Malad. Forest officials allege that these families had “re-encroached” forest land after earlier being rehabilitated elsewhere. Residents, however, reject this claim, saying many were never rehabilitated at all, while others were coerced into accepting inadequate housing decades ago.The chief conservator of forests and director of SNGP released a statement which claimed that the demolition drive is based upon a 1997 Bombay high court directive which said all the encroachments on forest land in SGNP have to be removed and residents have to be provided rehabilitation. The order also mandated that only families whose names were included on the electoral rolls of 1995 were to be rehabilitated. According to the forest department, over ten thousand families were allotted homes in Chandivli and Powai, but it claimed that around 385 families came back and “re-encroached” the land. “It must be emphasised that unless persons who have misused the rehabilitation scheme are evicted, other eligible families who have been awaiting rehabilitation for a long period will continue to be deprived of the benefits envisaged under the honourable court’s order of 1997,” stated the the chief conservator of forests and director of SNGP.The high court constituted a high-power committee to further investigate this matter. The committee consisted of former Maharashtra director general of police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, former Allahabad high court Chief Justice Dilip Bhosale, former Maharashtra chief secretary Nitin Kareer, and SGNP director Anitta Patil as member secretary.The committee passed a directive to remove the 385 settlements first. They were served demolition notices on January 17, asked to file objections by January 24. Demolitions however were scheduled between January 19 and 28. Ignoring the FRAMultiple tribal rights activists and politicians criticised the SGNP’s move claiming it to be oppressive towards adivasi families who have lived on the land for hundreds of years. Adivasi rights activists counter that this narrative ignores both history and law. They point out that the court order predates the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, which recognises the rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and was extended to municipal forest areas in 2015. “Tribal communities cannot be treated as encroachers on their own land,” said Aarey activist Amrita Bhattacharjee in a statement to Mid-Day. She alleged that notices were served in ten of 11 Adivasi padas, impacting around 350 families, some of whom were declared ineligible for protection simply because a distant member of their family had accepted rehabilitation under pressure nearly 30 years ago.The residents have also criticised the manner in which the eviction process was carried out. Notices were issued during a holiday period, giving families barely two days to submit documents or seek legal help. “This was clearly designed to leave us with no time and no options,” said a resident from Tumnipada to The Wire, whose home is on the demolition list. “Our ancestors lived here long before any forest department or government existed.”Political voices joined the criticism. Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande said in a post on X that Adivasi padas were being demolished without surveys, Forest Rights Act verification, or basic safeguards, calling the exercise “displacement disguised as conservation.”Closing of the parkThe park remained closed to visitors throughout Tuesday and was shut again from Wednesday afternoon, with heavy police presence and barricading at entry points. While vendors reported losses due to the closure, Adivasi residents said they were facing far graver consequences, including restricted movement, uncertainty, and fear of renewed police action.Political intervention and uncertaintyThe demolitions were suspended temporarily only after forest minister Ganesh Naik intervened on Tuesday evening. According to a report by The Indian Express, a few people from the area met a delegation of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and urged the government to intervene.Naik said, “The forest department has been asked to take into consideration the issues of the tribals and their rehabilitation. Some of them will be given ground plus one home in a 90 acre area in close proximity. For those who have returned after being rehabilitated, the rules will be explained to them”. For residents, however, the pause offers only temporary relief, with their homes still under threat and legal protections allegedly ignored.