Policy Announced for Rehabilitation of 25,000 Slums in Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Nagpur, Dec 2025 : Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced in the Legislative Assembly a new policy for the rehabilitation of tribal communities and around 25,000 slums located within Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The move is expected to free a significant portion of the park’s forest area.

Addressing the Assembly, Deputy CM Shinde said that many settlements within the park currently fall under No Development Zones (NDZs), and courts have ordered these areas to be vacated. However, relocating residents to distant areas is unlikely to receive the desired cooperation from the local population. Therefore, the government studied various options and drafted a new policy.

The policy aims to rehabilitate tribal residents within the same vicinity, with slums being resettled in NDZ areas within a 5 km radius of the park. Necessary amendments under Section 37(1k) of the MRTP Act have been completed, and the approval process for the notification is underway.

Deputy CM Shinde emphasized that the new policy will ease the rehabilitation process for tribal and slum dwellers while enabling the restoration and conservation of the valuable forest area in Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Team Maverick