Lakhs of residents of buildings on private forest land got a major relief when the Central Empowered Committee agreed to recommend the Supreme Court to clear the land. The committee held the final hearing on the issue at New Delhi on Monday.
The residents of the buildings occupied before June 22, 2006 will get the benefit of the decision. Now the fate of the residents depends upon the stand of Supreme Court, once the recommendations are made on Wednesday.
The committee had initially asked for occupation certificate and completion certificate to consider the cases. However, when pointed out that many buildings in the city did not have the certificates, the committee agreed to consider any document like the electricity bill or tax receipt as residential proof.
The residents will have to pay one-time afforestation charges of Rs8 to 10 lakh per hectare to compensate the losses. “The decision has brought a major relief to residents who have been reeling under the threat for no fault of theirs. Now that the committee has decided to recommend the same to the Supreme Court, around 15 lakh residents can be benefited,” said Prakash Padikkal of Hillside Residents Welfare Association (HIRWA).
Thousands of buildings on private forest land in the city and Thane were declared illegal by a decision of the Bombay High Court during the hearing on a petition filed by a city-based NGO, Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG). The NGO, after unearthing a huge land scam wherein many influential people had constructed farmhouses on private forest land in the region, had filed the petition in 2004, seeking correction of land records.
“The decision is highly disappointing as it will result in permanent loss of the land which otherwise could have served as buffer zone of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and open spaces of the city as well,” said Debi Goenka of BEAG. He said that it was difficult to value forest land and any amount charged for afforestation cannot suffice it.
The committee, while hearing the case on Monday, also cleared the under construction projects. The builders will have to pay afforestation charges 10 to 20 times of existing rates, depending on the stage of construction. Joint secretary (revenue and forest) Rajendra Mangrulkar said: “As long as people are ready to pay the charges, the state has no problem. We want the issue to be resolved amicably.”
