BJP urges Centre to protect housing interests in pvt forest land

New Delhi, Apr 4 (UNI) BJP leaders from Maharashtra today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other central leaders to protect the interests of 10,00000 families whose housing dreams were in jeopardy following the Mumbai High Court's order on private forests land.

Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ram Naik, accompanied by former party MP Kirit Somaiya, said in their representation before Dr Singh that the court's judgement declaring several pieces of land private forest land had a bearing on lakhs of families.

The order had created confusion as lakhs of people were staying for years in their duly purchased flats constructed on that land on the basis of documents certified by Collectors of Mumbai Sub-urban and Thane districts.

The issue has to be examined thoroughly by a properly constituted commission and the interests of residents, who have invested their life's earnings in the flats, have to be protected.

It was important to dereserve the private forest land covered by the judgment and amend the relevant Forest Acts, they added.

The Government should come out with a white paper giving survey numbers, names of buildings and other details.

The Government should also punish the official responsible for the chaos, the leaders urged.

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