PIL filed on forest land issue

Mumbai, June 5 (UNI) Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya today filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the declaration of private developed land adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and other areas as forest land by the Government under various Forest acts.

Ove a lakh residents would be affected following implementation of the decision, Mr Somaiya said in a press release here today.

If the decision is implemented, housing societies, part of BARC, 200 acres of the Film City, 2,000 acres under Ghodbunder Road and others would be affected, Mr Somaiya said.

After implementation of the Maharashtra Private Forest Land Act of 1975, these properties had not been taken into possession by the government, Mr Somaiya said. Also, no proceedings were started against those property-holders from 1957 to 1980, he said while questioning the move to declare them as forest land now.

The case will come up for hearing on Wednesday.

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