HC Expresses Concern Over Rehab Plan on 90 Acres of SGNP

Taking a Stern View of the Inaction of the Forest Officials, the Court Said We Want the City to be Liveable

- Karuna Nidhi

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday expressed concern over the government's plan to construct rehabilitation tenements for eligible encroachers on an 'eco-sensitive zone' in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). The court directed the state government to file an affidavit addressing these concerns and pulled up the conservator of forests for contempt of court for not following previous court orders.

The court was hearing a contempt petition filed on Thursday by Conservation Action Trust in 2023, in relation to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Samyak Janhit Seva Sanstha in 1995, pertaining to the government's inaction in rehabilitating slum dwellers despite several court orders over the years.

The petition raises objections to the construction of rehabilitation tenements on land within SGNP.