Pune: The state forest department 's local division now plans to reclaim 14,000 hectares of its land pending with the revenue department in the district. The revenue department earlier managed over 35,000 hectares of land given to it by the forest department for planting and overseeing. However, the partnership's lease agreement ended in 2008, resulting in the forest department moving to reclaim all the land it had previously owned.
In the last 16 years, the department has retrieved 20,000 hectares of land and safeguarded it under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980. However, 14,000 hectares were pending action and remained in the revenue department's custody. Deepak Pawar, assistant conservator of forests in Pune, explained, "When the forest department handed over the land to the revenue department, it was for a specific purpose.
In 1978, a Central govt order mandated that any land needed for administrative purposes must be transferred to the revenue department, which is why we gave this chunk of land to them." Nevertheless, a significant portion of the land was left unused or allocated to municipal corporations and gram panchayats for their use. Many unauthorised constructions have appeared on the vacant land, along with govt buildings.
Pawar added, "We will now acquire all of it back — in case of govt buildings on such land, we will seek compensatory land instead. There have been large-scale slum establishments set up in a few locations as well, which we will remove..