Mumbai: The state forest department wants to take over all vacant private forest land for which no building proposal has been sanctioned.

Principal secretary (revenue and forests) Praveen Pardeshi said the department had made the demand before the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing various matters on the private forest land issue. The Hillside Residents’ Welfare Association (HIRWA), which is seeking regularization of over one lakh flats in the Mumbai-Thane belt on private forest land, has filed a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution that pertains to right to shelter as a fundamental right. A three-judge bench has been constituted to hear these matters. The next hearing is on July 9.

The Shramik Mukti Sangathana, Murbad, and project-affected persons have slammed the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) for its 'short-sighted' decision to clear Kalu dam in Thane district involving 1,

After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests(MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in

Here is proof that it is almost impossible for a project put up for clearance to be really rejected by the environment ministry.

The Act grants legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest dwelling communities

The Additional Collector’s headquarter here was abuzz even before its gates opened on Monday morning. Around 100 tribals from various villages in the Jawhar tehsil had already queued to begin what they had aptly named as first of its kind ‘RTI Satyagraha’ against the alleged unlawful implementation of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is reconsidering its clearance for the controversial Kalu Dam in Thane district.

Sloppy implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) has resulted in large tracts of forests being cut down and claimed as cultivated land in Maharashtra, according to a study.

Mumbai: The sudden spurt in leopard attacks and increased instances of leopard spotting around Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) are primarily due to the high density of human population and concentration of small prey on the periphery, a year-long study has revealed.

The study, “Mumbaikars for SGNP”, was conducted by the forest department and the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore and found that there are at least 21 leopards in the national park.

Mumbai: The BMC and not the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), will undertake the next water supply project for the city.

The city will receive 865 million litres daily (mld) once the project is completed, which is expected in a decade.
The MMRDA had announced in 2010 that it would develop the Rs 8,500-crore Pinjal water supply project at its cost. The state irrigation department had even granted in-principle approval for the project. But the MMRDA recently informed the department that it was no longer interested in taking up the project as it has been able to tap water from other sources for the metropolitan region.

Thane: With a water-scarcity situation in 93 villages and 183 hamlets in Thane district, especially the tribal pockets, the district administration has planned a string of initiatives to rejuvenate the old wells and other water sources here.

Thane district guardian minister Ganesh Naik held a meeting of all elected representatives and officials on Tuesday to put in place a plan of action to ensure that not a single village remains parched. Instructions were issued to all officials of the zilla parishad and the district collectorate that providing drinking water was the administration’s first priority and trucks should be requisitioned to facilitate water from tankers into the hilly and remote tribal terrain of Thane district.