Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Maharashtra Government on Wednesday stated before the Bombay High Court that it would not take further action with regard to land declared as ‘private forests’ for three months.
As a result, those aggrieved by the High Court’s decision on March 24, upholding Government’s claim on over 100 acres of land in north Mumbai suburbs, would get time to file appeal before the Supreme Court.
The High Court has refused to grant some of the petitioners’ prayer that they be allowed to complete ongoing constructions on the lands in their possession, Government’s advocate Nitin Deshpande said.
Government has declared these lands – most of them in the possession of builders – as private forests, on the basis of notice issued in 1956-57. Revenue authorities started making actual changes in land records, showing the lands as forest land, only in the last two years.
This was challenged by a bunch of petitions, but Division Bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari upheld Government’s stand in the judgement on March 24.
