Flat owners to approach Chief Justice for settlement of forest land row

More than eight months after a two-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) announced that the private forest land dispute will be heard by a larger bench, Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia is yet to take up the matter for consideration.

After the hearing in the SC on February 9 this year, the issue has hit a wall, even as hapless residents complain of investing in apartments they never got. They plan to approach Kapadia again after Diwali to expedite their case.

“Thousands of affected home buyers are paying EMIs for years for homes that are still a dream,” said Prakash Padikkal, president, Hillside Residents Welfare Association, the representative body.

The worst affected are home buyers who booked flats in the Mulund-Nahur area, with the fate of 75,000 apartments hanging in the balance. Another cause for concern is the deterioration of semi-constructed buildings over the past four-and-a-half years since work ground to a halt. “The buildings are open to rain and harsh weather conditions. What guarantee is there of the quality of construction even after completion of the project?” asked Malathi Krishnan, who booked a flat in a Mulund project.

The dispute was sparked off in December 2005 after the forest department issued directives to alter revenue records of lands identified as private forests in the official gazette in 1956-57.