Around 500 ‘illegal residents’ of Thane, Dahisar, Mulund and Nahur who live in apartments constructed on land declared as forest land by the state government got together on Sunday to pass a new resolution following the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) directives. In a two-hour long meeting, the residents agreed in principle to pay afforestation charges in order to denotify their homes.

They also submitted details about their buildings — copies of their non-agricultural land permission, building plan approvals, occupation certificates and so on — to the Hillside Residents’ Welfare Association (HIRWA) and the People’s Power of Nation (PPN), the two non governmental organisations addressing the issue.

Prakash Paddikal, president of HRWA, said: “Awareness of the issue is increasing and we are sure that before November 20 — when we have to submit our new affidavit—nearly 90 per cent residents would have given their details to us. We have little time and this meeting’s main aim was to generate awareness about people’s status and the steps they have to take to ensure their homes are safe.”

According to the residents, the CEC, in a hearing on November 11, rejected the scheme proposed by the state government and directed the residents as well as the state to submit revised affidavits on the lines of their directives.

The state forest department, in its scheme proposed last month, pleaded that the lands put to non-forestry use before October 25, 1980 — coming under the Maharashtra Private Forest (Acquisition) Act of 1975 — and having all the approvals of the government “be treated as deleted from the category of forests”. However, the state’s application had appealed that buildings constructed after 1980 (up to 2006) should be deemed only as ‘restored land’ and afforestation charges be collected from them.

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