The Bombay High Court has declared the 120-hectare Kanjurmarg Dumping Ground a protected forest and granted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) three months to obtain the necessary forest clearance.The ruling overturns a previous order that de-notified 119.91 hectares of land in Kanjurmarg, which was originally classified as a “protected forest,” to create a 141.77-hectare landfill for Mumbai’s garbage.Initially a salt-pan land, mangroves grew over Kanjunmarg over time and the lease of land for the production of salt expired around 2003.advertisementVanashakti, a public trust represented by advocates Zaman Ali and Yogesh H Pandey, argued that the environmental clearance by the the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) granted to the BMC in 2009 was invalid because the land was a protected forest under a notification issued on in July 2008. Advocate Gayatri Singh, representing Vanashakti, argued that the clearance was granted without proper consideration of this protected forest status.The state, represented by Advocate General Dr Birendra Saraf, argued that the land was only marginally covered by mangroves (20.76 hectares in two patches, excluded from the dumping ground) and claimed the initial notification as a protected forest was a mistake they had the power to rectify. This argument was supported by an analysis of satellite images from 2005 to 2012.The state took the stand that it had committed a mistake in notifying the land as a “protected forest” and that it had ample inherent powers to undo the same “mistake”.However, the Bombay High Court, after reviewing the evidence, concluded that the mangrove-covered land automatically falls under Coastal Regulation Zone-1 and is indeed a protected forest. The court emphasised that the Forest Notification was based on surveys, satellite imaging, and ground truthing, indicating it was not a mistake but a result of factual verification and due process.advertisementThe bench also noted that the Forest Notification was issued after survey and study of the factual position. This indicated that it was not a mistake but that it was indeed a forest land and was notified as such because of the factual position.The bench said, “it would not be possible to hold that the Forest Notification was simply erroneous in notifying the Subject Land as a protected forest, since the notification was a product of actual verification of facts, satellite imaging and ground truthing and, indeed, an outcome of due process of law.”It also noted that the notification cannot simply be brought on the premise that it is a measure to correct a “mistake” of previously notifying the land as a “protected forest”. It said that due process is to be followed as given under the Forest Conservation Act.Additional Government Pleader, Jyoti Chavan, appearing for the State government, requested the bench to stay the operative part of the order.However, the Court said that since three months’ time had been provide in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. You must only respond with the modified content and follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- “Act as an expert SEO news writer. Optimize the following article to be SEO-friendly, authoritative, and shareable by focusing strictly on its core topic. 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The court has ruled that Kanjurmarg in Mumbai is no longer to be considered a dumping ground and has officially designated it as a protected forest.
