<p>In a significant step for conservation of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park — the green lung of Mumbai, the Bombay High Court has constituted a high-powered committee to ensure the expeditious construction of a boundary wall along with the limits of the national park to prevent further encroachments. </p><p>Geographically, the SGNP is around one-sixth the size of Mumbai and is an example of a huge jungle within a concrete jungle. </p>.Deposit Rs 60 cr, will then consider plea for permission to go abroad: Bombay High Court to Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra.<p>A division of the Bombay High Court comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad appointed the four-member committee. </p><p>The committee would be presided over by Justice Dilip Bhosale (Retd), the former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, former Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer, former Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal and SGNP Director and Chief Conservator of Forests Anita Patil. </p><p>The other terms of reference include measures for the compliance of the orders passed by High Court and such other measures are required to be taken for the protection of the SGNP, suggest measures and steps to be taken including identification of the lands and construction and funding of rehabilitation tenements for rehabilitating the encroachers, take inputs from all concerned agencies in identification of the lands where the construction of rehabilitation tenements can be carried out, removal of encroachments. </p><p>The HC has asked the committee to submit its first report before this within three months from the date of its first meeting.</p><p>The petition by Samyak Janhit Seva Sanstha alleged non-compliance of several court orders passed since 1997 in writ petition of 1995, which sought protection and preservation of the 104-sq-km park spread across Mumbai and Thane.</p><p>Advocate General Dr Birendra Saraf assured the Court that the State is taking all steps to comply with the orders passed by the Court and submitted that out of 90 acres of land to rehabilitate the encroachers, approximately 44 acres land would be immediately made available for residential development. As regards the balance 46 acres, the same would be processed very soon if the land is not included in the final notification for forest.</p><p>“Considering the present scenario, and to ensure that steps are taken for protection of SGNP, a crown jewel for the cities of Mumbai and Thane, we called upon the learned Advocate General and Senior Advocate Janak Dwarkadas, the senior counsel and other counsels appearing in this litigation to furnish a proposal which could streamline this process and ensure that the park is protected,” the order said.</p><p>The court noted that Google Earth images revealed that the boundary wall around the park remains incomplete — with only about 49 km constructed out of the 154 km required. “This has perhaps led to further encroachments in SGNP,” it remarked.</p><p>The SGNP, which is sandwiched between the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai, is the biggest national park in the world to be located within the limits of a metropolitan city.</p><p>The SGNP spread across 104 sq kms in Mumbai and some parts of neighbouring Palghar and Thane districts, is home to more than 274 species of birds, 35 species of mammals, 78 species of reptiles and amphibians, 170 species of butterflies, several species of fish and a staggering 1,300 species of plants. It has the highest leopard density – and is home to close to 35 leopards. </p><p>The SGNP is home to over 50 leopards - making it the highest leopard density in the world.</p><p>The highest peak of Mumbai, the Jambulmal is located here and so as the Kanheri caves, which is a 2,000 year old complex of some 160 rock-cut caves popularly known as the Kanheri caves, a protected archeological site. </p><p>Constructed way back in the 19th century, the Vihar (1860) and Tulsi (1868) Lakes are located within the forests of SGNP – and are an important source of water for Mumbai.</p><p>Chinese Buddhist monk and traveller Xuanzang even visited these places to learn about the form of Buddhism existing in this part of the sub-continent.</p><p>Swami Vivekananda, who had spread the message of Vedanta and Yoga to the world, too had visited the Kanheri Caves. </p>
<p>In a significant step for conservation of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park — the green lung of Mumbai, the Bombay High Court has constituted a high-powered committee to ensure the expeditious construction of a boundary wall along with the limits of the national park to prevent further encroachments. </p><p>Geographically, the SGNP is around one-sixth the size of Mumbai and is an example of a huge jungle within a concrete jungle. </p>.Deposit Rs 60 cr, will then consider plea for permission to go abroad: Bombay High Court to Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra.<p>A division of the Bombay High Court comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad appointed the four-member committee. </p><p>The committee would be presided over by Justice Dilip Bhosale (Retd), the former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, former Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer, former Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal and SGNP Director and Chief Conservator of Forests Anita Patil. </p><p>The other terms of reference include measures for the compliance of the orders passed by High Court and such other measures are required to be taken for the protection of the SGNP, suggest measures and steps to be taken including identification of the lands and construction and funding of rehabilitation tenements for rehabilitating the encroachers, take inputs from all concerned agencies in identification of the lands where the construction of rehabilitation tenements can be carried out, removal of encroachments. </p><p>The HC has asked the committee to submit its first report before this within three months from the date of its first meeting.</p><p>The petition by Samyak Janhit Seva Sanstha alleged non-compliance of several court orders passed since 1997 in writ petition of 1995, which sought protection and preservation of the 104-sq-km park spread across Mumbai and Thane.</p><p>Advocate General Dr Birendra Saraf assured the Court that the State is taking all steps to comply with the orders passed by the Court and submitted that out of 90 acres of land to rehabilitate the encroachers, approximately 44 acres land would be immediately made available for residential development. As regards the balance 46 acres, the same would be processed very soon if the land is not included in the final notification for forest.</p><p>“Considering the present scenario, and to ensure that steps are taken for protection of SGNP, a crown jewel for the cities of Mumbai and Thane, we called upon the learned Advocate General and Senior Advocate Janak Dwarkadas, the senior counsel and other counsels appearing in this litigation to furnish a proposal which could streamline this process and ensure that the park is protected,” the order said.</p><p>The court noted that Google Earth images revealed that the boundary wall around the park remains incomplete — with only about 49 km constructed out of the 154 km required. “This has perhaps led to further encroachments in SGNP,” it remarked.</p><p>The SGNP, which is sandwiched between the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai, is the biggest national park in the world to be located within the limits of a metropolitan city.</p><p>The SGNP spread across 104 sq kms in Mumbai and some parts of neighbouring Palghar and Thane districts, is home to more than 274 species of birds, 35 species of mammals, 78 species of reptiles and amphibians, 170 species of butterflies, several species of fish and a staggering 1,300 species of plants. It has the highest leopard density – and is home to close to 35 leopards. </p><p>The SGNP is home to over 50 leopards - making it the highest leopard density in the world.</p><p>The highest peak of Mumbai, the Jambulmal is located here and so as the Kanheri caves, which is a 2,000 year old complex of some 160 rock-cut caves popularly known as the Kanheri caves, a protected archeological site. </p><p>Constructed way back in the 19th century, the Vihar (1860) and Tulsi (1868) Lakes are located within the forests of SGNP – and are an important source of water for Mumbai.</p><p>Chinese Buddhist monk and traveller Xuanzang even visited these places to learn about the form of Buddhism existing in this part of the sub-continent.</p><p>Swami Vivekananda, who had spread the message of Vedanta and Yoga to the world, too had visited the Kanheri Caves. </p>