The court also directed that such encroachers who do not meet the December 31 deadline ``may be removed by the state after obtained further directions from the court''.

The bench of the Chief Justice and Justice A P Shah were following a 1997 public interest petition filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) where the high court had declared that the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, under the Forest Act of 1981 could not have any illegal structures within its limits.

Faced with the huge task of relocating the 33,000 encroachers,the high court had earlier directed that each family would pay a nominal sum of Rs 7000 and be relocated in areas earmarked by the State in Vasai, Kalyan and other areas. At the court today, State Government pleader R V Govilkar mentioned that of the 33,000 persons, only 464 had paid the first instalment of Rs 1000 that was to be paid by August 1999. Of these, only 253 had paid the second instalment of Rs 2000 that was to be paid by October 1999. The rest of the instalments were to have been paid by January 2000 and two weeks before the final giving of the pitch to the slumdwellers.

But since few slumdwellers had met with the deadline, the court on Friday extended the deadline till December.

In another development, after going through the Committee for Afforestation's report, the high court observed that the Thane Municipal Commissioner was ``uncooperative to say the least'' with the committee and has been asked to file an affidavit on his stand on the issues. A copy of the report is to be sent to him andthe Commissioner has been asked to be present in court when the matter next comes up after two weeks. While the report was submitted to the court, sources said that the commissioner had constructed an illegal paved road on the Thane side of the national park.

Similarly, since the report mentioned that the police were uncooperative in taking action against encroachers who attacked forest officials, the court today directed that the report be sent to the Thane Wagle Estate police station, the Dahisar police station and the Vasai police station so that the senior police inspectors in these police stations could file their affidavits in the matter in two weeks.

The court on Friday placed on record its appreciation that senior counsel Rafique Dada had agreed to represent the committee, headed by retired Justice S C Pratap.