Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday remarked that the quantified contribution of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to Mumbai was more than the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) annual budget. The court expressed displeasure over the inaction by the Maharashtra government for rehabilitating the eligible persons residing in unauthorised structures inside the protected forest.
A bench of a Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amir Borkar referred to a September 2022 report released by state forest minister Sudhir Mungatiwar which pegged the economic value of SGNP ecosystem services at Rs15,12,388 crore or Rs146 crore per hectare. The report ‘Economic value of the ecosystem services provided by Sanjay Gandhi National Park’ was designed to capture the economic benefits due to the protected area.
The HC was hearing a petition by Samyak Janhit Seva Sanstha, a society of slum dwellers inside the SGNP, seeking their rehabilitation as per earlier HC orders. In August, the HC had asked the government to come up with a scheme on an urgent basis to rehabilitate the eligible persons. A High Powered Committee (HPC) was formed in July 2023, headed by the forest minister, to see how the rehabilitation process can be expedited.
On Monday, State Advocate General Birendra Saraf sought some more time saying that the HPC was waiting for a meeting with the Chief Minister and “the process of arriving at a concrete decision is likely to take some more time”.
The court then emphasised the importance of SGNP’s ecosystem. “Contribution of SGNP to Mumbai is more than the annual budget of the BMC. You can’t just shut your eyes. Study has been conducted by experts and quantified contribution (of SGNP) in monetary terms. If these numbers can’t move them, what moves them?” asked the bench.
Saraf said that six tenders were issued but there were no takers. “We need to find a long lasting solution and merely issuing tenders will help,” Saraf said.
When Saraf urged the court to grant two more weeks, the judges remarked: “People at the helm must understand that (SGNP’s importance). Our patience must not be tested.”
The bench then asked the HPC to file an affidavit giving details of the steps taken for ensuring rehabilitation of dwellers inside the protected forest.
“We thus again request AG to coordinate with and persuade HPC to work out a solution at the earliest,” the bench added while keeping the matter for hearing on October 9.
In 1997, HC directed authorities to disconnect basic amenities like water, electricity and transport to the settlements and they were directed to remove the settlements and ensure that there were no further encroachments.
