Families of students in village refused to avail rehabilitation, hostel facilities: Maha govt to HC

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that it had offered a rehabilitation scheme and hostel facilities to students from a village, who have to use a boat and walk through a dense forest to reach their school, but the parents refused to avail the same.

Three separate affidavits – filed by the forest department, education department and the concerned tehsildar – were submitted to a bench headed by Justice P B Varale on Tuesday. The affidavits were filed after the high court took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of a news item on how students of Khirkhindi village in Satara district have to travel by a boat in Koyana backwaters and walk through a forest to reach their school.

Assistant conservator of forests (Wildlife) Subhash Bagadi, in his affidavit said Khirkhindi village falls in the critical tiger habitat or core area of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and hence, it was proposed for rehabilitation. As per the affidavit, residents of Khirkhindi village were shifted to Bhiwandi in Thane district. However, six families of the village have not yet shifted and taken possession of the agricultural land and house plots allotted to them in Bhiwandi.

“Eight students from these six families continue to reside in Khirkhindi village and take the boat to reach their school. These families have not accepted the rehabilitation offered by the government,” the affidavit said. It would not be possible to construct a road to the village and one has to travel by road to reach the place, it said. According to to the affidavit filed by tehsildar Rajendra Pol of Jawali taluka at least 70 families of Khirkhindi were rehabilitated to Bhiwandi, but six families refused to accept the rehabilitation.

“Despite repeated notices and being informed in person, these families were not ready to shift and continued to reside in the village at their own risk,” Pol said in the affidavit. Various facilities and help have been provided by different NGOs to these families such as cycles, boats and life jackets, the affidavit stated.

“The education department also sent a proposal to the parents of these students who are travelling from Khirkhindi, that they would be accommodated in a hostel in Jawali taluka. But the parents are not ready to send them to the hostel,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit filed by Imitiyaz Kazi, the joint secretary of the school education and sports department, said out of the eight students, two were studying in Khirkhindi Zilla Parishad school and the rest have to go to a school in Shembadi, as they are in higher classes.

“These students have to travel through Koyana backwater by a private boat from Khirkhindi to Shembadi and then further travel 4 km through the forest on foot,” the affidavit said. The high court noted that it would widen the scope of the plea considering students are suffering due to lack of facilities and posted the plea for further hearing on June 16.

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