The municipal council in Badlapur town of nearby Thane district is planning a shopping mall on a forest land without permission from the authorities,a public interest litigation (PIL) by an environmentalist alleged before the Bombay High Court on Monday. The PIL said the forest land,on which the mall was planned to be built,had trees of 200 valuable species,and the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council was cutting down some trees to accommodate construction of the shopping centre. Justice M L Tahaliyani and Justice Girish Godbole allowed the petitioner,Jayshri Jamhale,to serve notices to the civic body,forest office and the contractor and decided to hear the matter on December 28. The PIL alleged that the land belonged to the forest department since 1905,when a bungalow was built there. The land is in forest departments possession since then and this is reflected in the entries made in land records. However,in 1995,Thane collector gave the possession of the land to the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council. Eight years later,the forest department sought it back. The civic body called a general body meeting in 2004 and resolved to construct the shopping mall on the impugned plot of land. In 2006,state forest department wrote to the Ministry of Environment and Forest asking a query whether the land was forest. However,the ministry gave an ambigious reply not clarifying the position,the PIL alleged. The petitioner also approached the police to lodge an FIR last year,but they refused to register the complaint. Various protests,including fast,were held,but the council did not budge from its position. Meanwhile,the PIL alleged that another bunch of 25-30 trees were cut by the council to pave way for the mall.
