Govt plea in SC to end forest land row Residents of buildings on private forest land in Mumbai and Thane may have won half the battle against the decision to term their buildings illegal. The state government has filed an application in the Supreme Court praying for exclusion of the land from the purview of Maharashtra Private Forest (Acquisition) Act, 1980, in the larger public interest. The state forest department has also admitted that the revenue department had erred in failing to update land records on time. The state government has pleaded that the land put to non-forestry use prior to October 25, 1980, by way approval of plans, commencement certificate, and non-agricultural certificate be treated as deleted from the category of forest and non-forestry activities be allowed without levying any charges. The government has also sought exemption in charging net present value or compensation through aforestation. However, for the lands restored under the Act on which residential complexes have come up or are coming up and NA has been given after October 25, 1980, but before May 18, 2006, only aforestation charges are to be collected. For constructions post May 31, 2006, the government has proposed imposing aforestation charges 10 times the present value. The government has claimed that necessary showcause notices were issued to original land owners from 1950 till the last week of August, 1975. After hearing the original owners of such land, the state forest department initiated action to make necessary changes in the land records. However, the application says, the same was not done. As the land records were not changed, the original owners concealed the fact while selling these plots. President of Hill Side Residents Welfare Association (HIRWA), Prakash Padikkal, has welcomed the decision.