The encroachers occupy five acres on a plot at the foot of the Yeoor Hills near Carvalho Nagar in Thane. Apart from the 100-odd commercial establishments, there are three illegal four-storey buildings and 340 pucca hutments.The Forest Department had finalised its plans to raze the encroachments, after the Bombay High Court vacated a stay granted to the encroachers on October 1. The stay was vacated on the basis of an order passed by the Collector of Thane on July 27,stating that a certificate issued by the Land Record Officer (LRO) to the encroachers was erroneous.

Quoting from the Survey of India and toposheet maps, the collector had pointed out that the plot falls under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department and is not government land. The court had earlier stayed the proposed demolition after the LRO certified in August 1997 that the property on which the 500 encroachments stood was government land.The order allowing the Forest Department to demolish encroachments in the park had been passed on July 11 on a petition filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group in 1995. However, the judgement was reserved in the case of the Thane encroachments as the court had stayed the proposed demolition. The stay was vacated on October 1.