Maha admits to its ‘mistake’, finally
The Maharashtra government is now preparing to admit its ‘tactical mistake’ to save thousands of houses built on ‘forest land’ in Mumbai suburbs when the issue comes before the Supreme Court.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is now preparing to admit its ���tactical mistake��� to save thousands of houses built on ���forest land��� in Mumbai suburbs when the issue comes before the Supreme Court. Admitting the ���tactical error��� ��� of not making the necessary changes in the revenue department records after allowing construction on forest land ��� could be the only solution before the government to pull itself out of the mess, experts point out. Such a submission before the court during the forest land case would have saved thousands of houseowners who are facing the threat of eviction following the recent high court order.
A senior minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Cabinet disclosed to ET that the departments of forest and revenue had discussed such an option, but the government did not do so when it filed its affidavit before the court. Revenue department officials pointed out that the state government had exploited this option to free around 42,000 hectares of private forest land in Sindhudurg district of Konkan from the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act.
���The government affidavit before the court simply pleaded guilty and expressed regrets over the mistake. The court took a lenient view and freed 42,000 hectares of land, which was locked in a similar case,��� a revenue department official said.
Last week, the Bombay High Court rejected petitions filed by some developers, upheld a government order declaring around 1,500 hectares of land as private forests, and ruled that all construction on these lands was illegal. ���Top officials from the departments of revenue and forests had sat together to work out a solution to this problem which threatened to snowball into a major crisis for the government. But the government blundered by not using this option and told the court that the entire land in question was actually private forests. The court naturally upheld the government order declaring all those lands as private forests,��� the minister said.
The solution discussed by the revenue and forest departments was that the government would plead guilty before the court in its affidavit and pray for a reprieve for the housing societies and residents on the grounds that construction activity on private forests was virtually endorsed by the government.
Meanwhile, forest minister Babanrao Pachpute told the legislative council on Thursday that the state government was seriously pursuing an amicable solution to this issue. Another senior minister said the government would provide all support to the developers and housing societies in challenging the High Court ruling in the Supreme Court.
A senior minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Cabinet disclosed to ET that the departments of forest and revenue had discussed such an option, but the government did not do so when it filed its affidavit before the court. Revenue department officials pointed out that the state government had exploited this option to free around 42,000 hectares of private forest land in Sindhudurg district of Konkan from the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act.
���The government affidavit before the court simply pleaded guilty and expressed regrets over the mistake. The court took a lenient view and freed 42,000 hectares of land, which was locked in a similar case,��� a revenue department official said.
Last week, the Bombay High Court rejected petitions filed by some developers, upheld a government order declaring around 1,500 hectares of land as private forests, and ruled that all construction on these lands was illegal. ���Top officials from the departments of revenue and forests had sat together to work out a solution to this problem which threatened to snowball into a major crisis for the government. But the government blundered by not using this option and told the court that the entire land in question was actually private forests. The court naturally upheld the government order declaring all those lands as private forests,��� the minister said.
The solution discussed by the revenue and forest departments was that the government would plead guilty before the court in its affidavit and pray for a reprieve for the housing societies and residents on the grounds that construction activity on private forests was virtually endorsed by the government.
Meanwhile, forest minister Babanrao Pachpute told the legislative council on Thursday that the state government was seriously pursuing an amicable solution to this issue. Another senior minister said the government would provide all support to the developers and housing societies in challenging the High Court ruling in the Supreme Court.
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