E-Paper
3,632 hectares taken back from NGOs, Maha govt tells HC
The state government told the high court on Tuesday that it has taken back 3,632 hectares of land allotted to non-governmental bodies in eight districts, including Mumbai suburban, for not complying with the allotment conditions.
The state government told the high court on Tuesday that it has taken back 3,632 hectares of land allotted to non-governmental bodies in eight districts, including Mumbai suburban, for not complying with the allotment conditions.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Amjad Syed was hearing the PIL, filed by advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, in which he said that while the state government had allotted land to various non-governmental bodies at concessional rates, nothing was being done to ascertain whether the beneficiaries were abiding by the terms of the allotments.
Acting on the PIL, the court had earlier directed the state government to tell it what measures it was taking to ensure that the non-governmental bodies complied with the conditions, and also sought a report on the action taken against these bodies for flouting the conditions.
Accordingly, a report was submitted to the court on Tuesday, in which the government said it retaken possession of 3,632 hectares of land in Mumbai suburban, Thane, Ratnagiri, Palghar, Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad and Washim districts.
According to Punalekar’s lawyer, Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, the state has taken action and reclaimed plots in 329 cases, while action is being taken in 2,473 more cases.
Seeking to know why its action was restricted to certain districts, the court directed assistant government pleader Madhubala Kajle to submit action-taken reports for the remaining districts.
Earlier, the state government had told the high court it has instructed all district revenue authorities to maintain registers of government lands allotted to private bodies within their limits and to put the data online.
The court was also told that vigilance squads have been set up in all districts to make surprise visits and recommend action against those found violating the terms of allotment.
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