Prominent personalities from Mumbai have appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to interfere in the forest land issue in the city suburbs, where over 1 lakh families will be displaced if the government adheres to a court order.
Though they could not meet the prime minister, Ram Naik, former petroleum minister and MP from Mumbai North, Dr Kirit Somaiya, former MP from Mumbai North East and Dilip Hazare, municipal councillor met Home Minister Shivraj Patil and secretary in the ministry of forest and environment.
The case, which was pending before the high court, was decided on March 24 and the judges declared construction on the forest land illegal.
"On March 28, we passed a unanimous resolution in Hindi and Marathi which said that the buildings were constructed with the approval of authorities," they said in their representation.They demanded publication of a white paper giving survey number and names of the buildings that would be affected by the court order. The delegation also wanted to punish government officials and authorities who were responsible for the situation.
