HC stops Badlapur civic body from cutting trees on forest land

PIL says forest land on which mall was planned had trees of 200 valuable species.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday restrained the Municipal Council in Badlapur town of nearby Thane district from cutting trees to pave way for construction of a shopping mall on forest land.

The injunction was granted by Justices M L Tahaliyani and Girish Godbole on a PIL which claimed that Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council was planning to construct a mall without permission of the authorities.

The PIL said the forest land on which the mall was planned to be built had trees of 200 valuable species and the Council was cutting down some of them to accommodate the shopping centre. The PIL, which has been adjourned for hearing after the winter vacation, alleged the land belonged to forest department since 1905 when a bungalow was built there.

The land is also in the possession of forest department since then and this is reflected in entries in land records, it said. However in 1995, Thane Collector had given possession of the land to Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council. Eight years later, the forest department sought return of the land.

The civic body called a general body meeting in 2004 and resolved to construct the shopping mall on the impugned plot of land. In 2006, forest department of Maharashtra wrote to the Ministry of Environment and Forest asking a query whether the land was forest.

However, the Ministry gave an ambiguous reply not clarifying the position, the PIL alleged. The petitioner also tried to lodge FIR with police last year but they refused to register the complaint.

Various protests, including fast, were held but the Council did not budge from its position. Meanwhile, the PIL alleged another bunch of 25-30 trees were cut by the Council to pave way for the mall.