HC seeks Maha's reply on PIL against inclusion of nature park in Dharavi project

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government and Slum Rehabilitation Authority SRA to file affidavits in response to a petition challenging the inclusion of the Mahim Nature Park in the Dharavi redevelopment projectA division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja was hearing a public interest litigation PIL claiming that the Mahim Nature Park which is a protected forest has been unlawfully included in the redevelopment of Dharavi Asias largest slumThe PIL filed by NGO Vanshakti and environmental activist Zory Bathena stated that it wants to ensure that the park admeasuring 27 acres is not unlawfully covered under the proposed Dharavi redevelopment projectThe petitioners had earlier written to the project authority seeking a clarification on whether the park was included within the Dharavi notified area when it should have been entirely deleted from the project documentsAlso Read Dharavi redevelopment Adani Group bags project with Rs 5069 crore bidSenior counsel Milind Sathe appearing for the project authority told the court on Monday that it has already clarified to the petitioners that the Mahim Nature Park was not included in the redevelopment projectBut the authority was however silent on whether the park would be shown in the category of excluded area in the tender documentsThe bench then directed the state government and SRA to file their affidavits clarifying their stand by January 2 2023As per the plea the Mahim Nature Park was declared as a protected forest in 1991In October 2022 a tender was issued calling for bids for the redevelopment of Dharavi The tender grants the project proponent the right to acquire excluded areas including the Mahim nature park the PIL allegedThe petition challenged the demarcation and inclusion of the protected forest of the park in the category of excluded area in the project tenderThis demarcation and inclusion would unlawfully allow the project proponent to acquiredevelop the Mahim Nature Park in contravention to its protected nature status the PIL saidThe Mahim Nature Park should have never been included within the boundary of the Dharavi redevelopment project and should be deleted from the project documents it saidThe Adani Group had emerged as the highest bidder for the 259hectare Dharavi redevelopment project and bagged it with its Rs 5069 crore bidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever