A month after the Bombay high court order which declared all houses on private forest land as illegal, embattled chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Wednesday stepped in to protect the estimated one lakh flats of 'innocent' persons on forest lands in the suburbs, especially in the Powai-Bhandup-Mulund-Thane-Kandivli-Borivli belt covering about 1,500 hectares. Another 75,000 flats are under construction in these areas. Deshmukh said that when the special leave petition filed by the residents and a section of builders comes up for hearing before the Supreme Court, his government will submit a comprehensive scheme within the framework of the law to protect the interests of flat owners. If the scheme is accepted by the apex court, flat owners will have to pay a nominal fine or fee of 70 paise per sq ft to regularise their houses. Following the lead taken by nominated Congress legislator Charansingh Sapra, Deshmukh had convened a special meeting which was attended by forest minister Babanrao Pachpute, municipal commissioner J M Phatak, additional chief secretary (forest) J P Dange and NGO leader Prakash Padikal to draft an action plan. The high court had on March 24, 2008, held all construction on private forest land to be illegal. Subsequently, the state government had told the court that for the next six weeks, no action would be taken for the removal or demolition of all such construction. According to reports, after the initial meeting between NGOs and Pachpute as well as a section of forest officials, Deshmukh had intervened to say that when the flats had come up, most of the owners did not know that they were being built on private forest land. In addition, it was found that the necessary changes had not been made by the concerned departments to establish that this was private forest land. Ultimately, when the cases reached the courts, it was found that while this was indeed private forest land, the revenue records had not been changed accordingly. As a result, innocent flat owners had been penalised. On the draft scheme, a senior forest official said that as per the provisions of the forest conservation act, if there was non-forest use of forest land, the violator would have to pay towards the net present value of the land (Rs 5 lakh to Rs 9.5 lakh), equivalent forest land and cost of afforestation. However, the Deshmukh government will now urge the apex court to grant permission for dereservation of the forest land and charge a nominal fine or fee of Rs 1.40 lakh per hectare for the developed forest land and Rs 70,000 per hectare for the non-developed forest land. In the event that the scheme is accepted, the flat owner will have to pay a nominal fine of 70 paise per sq ft. The forest department official said the special leave petition was coming up for hearing on April 28. If the apex court agrees, it will be submitted before the central empowered committee set up by the Supreme Court. "After the apex court, the CEC will decide on our scheme," the official added. In fact, when the forest department had filed an appeal before the apex court, the state government had filed an application stating that notwithstanding the provisions of the forest conservation act, it was keen to provide relief to innocent flat owners. Government to submit compromise formula before the apex court on April 28 At present, if there's a violation of the forest conservation act, one has to pay between Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh towards the net present value of the occupied land as well as equivalent forest land and the cost of compensatary afforestation. If the compromise formula is accepted, each flat owner will have to pay 70 paise per sq ft.