Regularization of Illegal Homes On Private Forest Land In Stalemate

There are about five lakh people in Mumbai residing in flats built on private forest land. These flats are termed illegal and are waiting to be regularized. The residents of these buildings are fighting for regularization of their flats in the Supreme Court. But there is no solution for these illegal flats and their residents.

Encroachment of private forest

In Mumbai, the private forest lands are spread across the areas of Mulund, Thane, Bhandup, Nahur, Mahul, Goregaon and Kandivali. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) development plan of 1967 and 1991 marked these areas for land use. Any building plans on these lands were approved by the BMC. These buildings were also issued occupancy certificates (OC).

In 2002, an activist group Bombay Environmental Action Group filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court stating that there was an encroachment on the private forest lands.

The court case

Following the PIL by the activist group, the Bombay HC asked for a list of encroachment. The revenue department named the forest department as owners and started issuing notices correcting land records. Having learnt about these corrections, housing societies counter-filed a PIL in 2006 that the occupation was legal. However, the high court upheld the contention that these were encroachments.

The housing societies challenged this decision in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court set up a Central Empowered Committee to look into the issue and decide on it. Accordingly, the residents were directed to make payments varying from Rs. 6 per sq.ft for individual flat owners to Rs. 120 per sq.ft for builders at NPV (net present value) for regularizing these flats.

However, once the money was paid, the Central Ministry of Environment and Forests raised an objection claiming that the residents had been penalized incorrectly by the state government. The penalty paid was applicable for barren land. It said that the residents had to pay 50% additional penalty for regularization since the land was adjoining the national park.

Present situation

The residents have now refused to pay any additional penalty and are awaiting the verdict from the apex court. They have said that, despite paying a higher penalty, the existing law does not provide a provision to transfer ownership of the forest land, and they would not get freehold land. Hence, there was no meaning in paying a higher penalty.