Aarey Milk Colony

Aarey Milk Colony आरे मिल्क कॉलोनी
Neighbourhood
Aarey Milk Colony
Coordinates: 19°08′55″N 72°52′54″E / 19.148493°N 72.881756°E / 19.148493; 72.881756Coordinates: 19°08′55″N 72°52′54″E / 19.148493°N 72.881756°E / 19.148493; 72.881756
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Mumbai City
Metro	Mumbai
Established	1949
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	400065[1]
Vehicle registration	MH 01

Aarey Colony

The Aarey Milk Colony is situated in Goregaon East, a suburb of Mumbai, India. It was established in 1949 and officially inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951.^[2] It has gardens, a nursery, lakes, an observation pavilion, picnic facilities, and milk plants. 16,000 cattle are reared on 1,287 hectares of land, and 32 cattle farms.^[3]

The colony is spread over 16 square kilometres (4,000 acres) and is located off the Western Express Highway. Among the attractions in it are Chhota Kashmir with a lake and a picnic spot.^[4] The colony has restaurants and gardens and an observation pavilion. It is also used for film shootings. The management of all these is outsourced to a private firm every two years.^[5] A large part of Bimal Roy's Madhumati (1958) were shot in area, to match the earlier footage shot in Nainital.^[6]

There is a road within the colony built by the Maharashtra Public Works Department that connects the Western Express Highway to Powai. The Aarey Colony administration earlier collected toll from the users of the road.^[7] In 2014, the MCGM took over the road and ended the collection of the toll.^[8] It is also the location of the proposed carshed and depot for Line 3 of the Mumbai Metro.

A plan was mooted in 2010 to extend the existing Byculla Zoo in South Mumbai by building a zoo with no enclosures on land that would be acquired from both the colony as well as the adjacent Sanjay Gandhi National Park.^[9]

Ownership pattern

The Aarey Milk Colony occupies a total area of 3166 acres of land, out of which area is available for cultivation of quality fodder and grasses is only about 400 acres. Land is also leased out to various organization and institutions of state Govt. and Central Govt. as follows:

1. Total land given to Central Govt. Institute (Central Poultry Farm, Modern Bakery, NDDB, RBI) 229.92
2. Total land given to State Govt. Institutions ( Mumbai Veterinary College, SRP, MHADA, MCGB, Film City, Fishery) 729.12
3. Area under road and buildings 460.00
4. Area uncultivated and waste land under Nalhas, Lake, Farm bunds, farm roads, Channels 1020.20
5. Area under lawns and gardens, Paragrass and orchards 537.00
6. Land and the social Forestry Land etc. 183.00
7. Total 3160..00

The main objective to erect such colony:

1. Shifting of cattle/buffalo from the city limits,
2. Supply of better quality milk to the citizens of Mumbai at comparatively cheaper cost, and,
3. Maintenance of these animals on scientific and modern animal husbandry practices

In the colony, 30 stables are constructed having a capacity for housing 500 to 550 animals in each stables. Each stable has been provided with an ancillary building such as hay godown, chaff-cutting sheds, calving lines and residential accommodation for the cattle owner and their staff. The private cattle owner who are maintaining their herds in the Mumbai city prior to 1949 were shifted and allotted Licenses to maintain their buffalos in the colony stables . at present, Aarey Milk colony has got the capacity of accommodating 16079 cattle in 30 units. The license are required to pay the necessary license fee, occupation charges, water and electricity charges and other ancillary services rendered to them.

In addition to the activities of maintaining the large herds of milch animals in Aarey Colony, certain activities like running primary school for the benefit of children of residents of the Aarey Colony and running 24 bed hospital are also undertaken by Aarey authorities.

Animal Husbandry Scheme :- Cow Unit Scheme ;- Under this scheme, nearly 1700 indigenous and cross - breed cows are maintained at 4 Dairy Farms Units. The indigenous herd is utilized for producing large numbers of cross breed heifers which are supplied to the farmers of Dairy Co-Operatives in Maharashtra state to augment the milk production and the generation of cross breed herd will be utilized to study the effect of cross breeding up to 7 5% and 6.5% exotic blood level. This study will be useful to advise the farmers in the Maharashtra state regarding the breeding policies that can be practiced by them for breeding. Their cross breeds progeny at the village level . Maintenance of cross breed herds will be economic while the indigenous herds will be showing some amount of losses, but it will be a good study for future planning.

In order to increase the revenue and decrease the losses incurred the following activities are initiated from 2001 -02.

1. The toll tax collecting for the vehicles using the Aarey Milk colony main road from Pawai, Malad- Borivali, Didoshi, Goregaon, Andheri, Marol -Maroshi by calling the public tenders
2. The Aarey tank measuring 3-4 acres is utilized for boating purpose on fixed rent basis.
3. The unutilized godowns which were earlier used for storing the fodder and concentrated animal feed are rented to various parties by calling the public tenders.
4. Various stall open spoken were allotted for vendors stalls, restaurant general stores on rental basis.
5. The agricultural produce from the various trees e.g. Coconuts, Mango, Cashew nuts etc. were given as contractual basis
6. The various recourses and by products e.g. Water, Fodder plot and cow are being sold on contractual basis

The various activities are carried out by the staff of around 640 personnel under the administrative control of Chief Executive Officer, Aarey Colony.

References

External links

• http://dairy.maharashtra.gov.in

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