[6] On 3 September 2020, the Maharashtra government declared one fifth of the Aarey Colony, an area of approximately 600 acres, as a reserved forest.

These vulnerable animals include leopards, Rusty spotted cat, Sambar deer, Alexandrine Parakeet and Red-wattled Lapwing.

There are 4 adult females named Adarsh Nagar (after the locality she used to frequent), Bindu, Chandani ( 3 legged leopard) and Luna.

Vidya Athreya, an ecologist, pointed out that leopards being around was never a big issue among residents of these areas, it is only a recent demand.

She also pointed out that this is an urban dwellers' issue as people in rural areas experience less attacks and no death has occurred in Ahemadnagar, for instance, despite having a higher leopard count.

They have suffered on account of basic amenities not provided by the government and also the rapid degradation of the forest and drive to displace tribes has impacted their sustainable lifestyle and means of livelihood.

[17] In the Mumbai-Salsette exploration project, BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) and CEMS (Centre for Extra-Mural Studies) have found relics, tribal artefacts dating back to the Shilahara dynasty / Sheelar Yadav period (765 - 1029 AD) in Aarey.

The team (consisting of 6 experts and 40 archeology students)[20] found remains of old settlements and a Kuldevi worship spot of the Malhar Koli community at Ultan Pada.

Only 7 padas were covered in this exploration and the experts have stated that Aarey is an unexplored site and could be important in constructing the history of Mumbai.

[21][22] Another study was conducted around 2017 when construction workers found an artefact in the Metro III proposed car shed area.

The colony was the vision of Mr Dara Khurody, a pioneer of dairy sector who shared the '1963 Ramon Magsaysay Award' with Dr Verghese Kurien for revolutionizing the processing and marketing of milk in Mumbai.

Each stable has been provided with an ancillary building such as hay gawdown, chaff-cutting sheds, calving lines, and residential accommodation for the cattle owner and their staff.

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 a 7.5% and 6.5% exotic blood level.

The various activities are carried out by the staff of around 640 personnel under the administrative control of chief executive officer Aarey Colony.

The roads within Aarey are lonely and late night travel must be avoided between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.[34] The thick vegetation hides wild animals like leopards, who usually prey upon stray dogs and feral pigs.

[37][38] On 22 December 2016, the headless body of a 22-year-old man, Brandon Gonsalves, was found near Unit 2 of Aarey Colony.

[40] Apart from criminal activities like murders, road robberies, and occult practices, there are apocryphal tales of ghosts trying to hitch rides.

It has been said that the carshed issue resulted in delaying the opening of the Metro Line 3 by at least five years and also lead to cost overruns in thousands of crores in rupees.