- News>
- States
Remove 70,000 encroachments in National Park, HC tells govt
Mumbai, Sept 15: In a significant order, the Mumbai High Court today directed the Centre as well as Maharashtra government to remove within six months 70,000 encroachments within the precincts of Sanjay Gandhi National Park here.
Mumbai, Sept 15: In a significant order, the Mumbai High Court today directed the Centre as well as Maharashtra government to remove within six months 70,000 encroachments within the precincts of Sanjay Gandhi National Park here.
The direction was given by Chief Justice C K Thakker and Justice S Radhakrishna on a PIL filed by Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) which alleged damage to the forest cover in the National Park due to encroachments.
The bench also dismissed a bunch of petitions filed by slum dwellers and tribals praying protection of their houses on the ground that they were inhabitants of the area since many years. The court allowed pre-1995 encroachers, numbering 33,000, to pay within three months Rs 7,000 each for their rehabilitation and resettlement on government lands at Kalyan and Dombivali in nearby Thane district.
The government filed an affidavit saying there were around 61,000 encroachments as on November 7, 2000. This number may have increased by now, it said.
The PIL alleged that the area of National Park was 100 square kms. Encroachments were reported in about 200 hectares in the National Park thereby defeating the very purpose of its establishment. Due to encroachments, the area could not be fenced and wild animals strayed in civil areas killing people and eating their prey, the PIL said and alleged that around 50,000 encroachments had come up in the last few years.
Bureau Report
The bench also dismissed a bunch of petitions filed by slum dwellers and tribals praying protection of their houses on the ground that they were inhabitants of the area since many years. The court allowed pre-1995 encroachers, numbering 33,000, to pay within three months Rs 7,000 each for their rehabilitation and resettlement on government lands at Kalyan and Dombivali in nearby Thane district.
The government filed an affidavit saying there were around 61,000 encroachments as on November 7, 2000. This number may have increased by now, it said.
The PIL alleged that the area of National Park was 100 square kms. Encroachments were reported in about 200 hectares in the National Park thereby defeating the very purpose of its establishment. Due to encroachments, the area could not be fenced and wild animals strayed in civil areas killing people and eating their prey, the PIL said and alleged that around 50,000 encroachments had come up in the last few years.
Bureau Report