Environmentalists and conservationists oppose plan to allow pigeon feeding near Aarey forest and Sanjay Gandhi National Park

“If artificial feeding is started around or inside the SGNP and Aarey, the overall population of pigeons will shoot up beyond the natural carrying capacity. Eventually, these pigeons will start displacing the existing wildlife and avian creatures, which in turn will create a massive ecological imbalance,” Goenka said.

On Tuesday, a delegation of members from the Jain community met Mumbai’s municipal commissioner and state-appointed administrator, Bhushan Gagrani, asking him to make an alternative arrangement for pigeon feeding in the city.

Gagrani later told The Indian Express that the BMC was considering four places as possible pigeon-feeding spots. These are the Aarey forest, SGNP, Gorai, and the Mangrove land around Wadala. He said the primary reason for selecting these spots was that there is minimal human presence owing to the low number of residential towers.

“The BMC has already appointed a committee to chalk out alternative methods of pigeon feeding. But this committee has not submitted its report. Treating wildlife artificially has its consequences. Therefore, this kind of activity should be avoided,” Goenka said.

On July 30, acting on an order passed by the high court, the BMC banned the feeding of pigeons in public spaces. The civic authorities also shut down kabutarkhanas, including the one at Dadar, and have been penalising people found feeding pigeons in public spaces.

Jain community and pigeon feeding

This move met with immense resistance from the Jain community. In Jainism, feeding pigeons is a form of jeev daya or compassion for living beings, one of the central tenets of Jain ethics. Many Jain families and temples organise regular pigeon feeding, often near temples or trust-run kabutarkhanas. The Dadar kabutarkhana is one such feeding spot set up by a Jain temple.

Last month, Mumbai’s guardian minister, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, also announced the opening of a pigeon-feeding spot near the Aarey forest.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Stalin D, an environmentalist and the director of the NGO Vanshakti, expressed concerns over the proposed pigeon-feeding spots.

“Pigeons are known to take over nesting spaces of birds that are meant to stay around human habitation, like sparrows and mynas. So if pigeon feeding is allowed inside the Aarey forest or SGNP, it will create a huge ecological imbalance,” he said.

“Pigeon droppings are hazardous and cause pulmonary health diseases like asthma in humans. Their droppings also spread diseases of parrot fever, which has a high risk of transmission among wild birds and may contaminate other species. This contamination may further spread to other animals that eat them,” he added.