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Advocate-General Ravi Kadam submitted that the state government would not act on the mutation entries for 12 weeks from today. The move is expected to give the petitioners time to appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision on March 24 upholding the government’s claim on over 100 acres of land in north Mumbai suburbs.
The High Court, however, refused to grant relief to some petitioners who sought the court’s permission today to allow them to complete ongoing construction on plots in their possession.
The government has declared these plots — most of them in the possession of builders — as private forests, on the basis of a notice issued in 1957-58. Revenue authorities started making actual changes in land records, showing the plots as forest land, only in the last two years.
A division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari had dismissed petitions, holding the government’s action of issuing notices and altering revenue records to show these plots as private forests, to be valid.
The petitioners argued that mere issuance was not enough and notices need to be actually served.
In the 154-page judgment, the judges had observed that “merely because such a notice is issued by it (government) in 1957 and 1958 but it did not take necessary steps in furtherance thereof does not mean that notices have been abandoned.”
The petitioners contended that in most cases the plots are in industrial or residential zones as per the Development Plan (DP). The state had countered that Section 3 of the Maharashtra Private Forest (Acquisition) Act 1975 had an overriding effect on other laws. Therefore, though some action is taken under the regional town planning act, the action under the forest act shall prevail.
The government contended that on August 30, 1975, by virtue of Section 3 of the Forest Act, the land stood vested with the state government. Therefore, the petitioners were no more holders of the land when the Urban Land Ceiling Act came into existence.
According to Anmol Bhushan, president of the People’s Power of Nation (PPN), an NGO fighting for residents’ rights in Mulund, the three-month stay granted by the High Court will give them enough time to approach the Supreme Court. “We will now apply for a special leave petition with the court,” he said.
However, not yet convinced by the state’s plan to propose a reprieve for existing residents, Bhushan said, “Until now, the government’s contentions have always confused us. We don’t know how much weight to put in their statements that they are with the people.”
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RatingNow they found their mistake
At the outset, I hereby thanks to editor of this article. I had seen every media is just explaining this matter like any interesting new story instead of exposing main side. Further I hereby request to all media reporters on behalf of innocent residents to focus on main point of the issue is “There is BIG fault of Forest Department
With the threat of Global Warming and efforts are being taken to save Forests/ecology, the builders should not be allowed to further carry out any construction activity on the forest land in Mumbai or elsewhere. Even the court should pass necessary orders to penalise the builders who have already constructed the buildings on the forest lands. Already the forests in India are decreasing and any step taken by the Court in favour of builders, in future, to allow to construct residential complexes on forest land would be against the environment. First of all, the Court should try to find out how the buildings have come up on forest land. Even in Indian Express published on 26.03.2008, there is a mention that the builders should be allowed to construct buildings on payment per hectare basis. This should be totally denied and the Court should issue necessary orders not to carry out any construction activities either on forest land or destroying the hills. The classic example is Powai.
Before man born, everywhere there was forest on earth. Man has enchroached all places on earth. That means all houses are illigal
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