HC stays quarrying in park

MUMBAI, December 17: The Bombay High Court today barred quarrying activity on 209 acres of land in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Boriv...

MUMBAI, December 17: The Bombay High Court today barred quarrying activity on 209 acres of land in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivli, which a contractor claimed to have acquired nearly 50 years ago.

Admitting the petition by the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), National Park today, Justice D K Deshmukh stayed hearings on contractor K M Shaikh’s appeal in the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal (MAT). The judge ordered the tribunal not to entertain Shaikh’s appeal till the final disposal of the DFO’s petition. The appeal claimed ownership of the 50 acres which is a part of the larger 209 acres stretch of land.

The petition revealed that despite restraining orders from the Supreme Court and the High Court, Shaikh continued with his quarrying activity for the last 20 years without possessing an ownership title for the 50 acres.

Story continues below this ad

The forest official stated that 209 acres were sold to Veekay Lal Investment Co Ltd in 1962. Shaikh had obtained an excavation contract for the plot. Later, when the Maharashtra Acquisition of Private Forests Act (1975) came into effect, the land was given back as private forest, he added.

However, continuing to claim ownership of the plot, Shaikh sought an injunction against the state government in a suit filed in the city civil court. His plea was dismissed. Later, the high court too dismissed his plea.

The contractor then filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court which declared the 209 acres as “private forests”. Shaikh again appealed to the MAT. However, the forest authorities held that this appeal is not tenable in the light of the apex court ruling.

The state government, represented by four counsels including P K Pandit and V V Pai, argued that MAT president has failed to appreciate that Shaikh’s appeal in the tribunal itself is “an abuse of court, since the apex court has made the possession issue abundantly clear”. The MAT president and its members have also been made respondents in the petition.