Bombay High Court appoints panel led by former Allahabad CJ DB Bhosale to protect Sanjay Gandhi National Park

The Bombay High Court recently constituted a High Powered Committee under the Chairmanship of former Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale to ensure the protection and preservation of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park [Samyak Janhit Seva Sanstha v. The Union of India]..The Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrasekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad passed the order in a contempt of court petition alleging non-compliance of the orders passed by the Court in a writ petition filed in 1995 for the protection and preservation of the park."Considering the present scenario, and to ensure that steps are taken for protection of SGNP, a crown jewel for the cities of Mumbai and Thane, we called upon the learned Advocate General; Mr. [Janak] Dwarkadas, the learned senior counsel and other counsels appearing in this litigation to furnish a proposal which could streamline this process and ensure that the park is protected. Based on the suggestions, we deem it necessary to constitute a High Power Committee," the Court said..The other members of the Committee are,1. Nitin Kareer, Former Chief Secretary of the State of Maharashtra;2. Subodhkumar Jaiswal, Former Director General of Police, State of Maharashtra; and3. Anita Patil, Conservator of Forests and Director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SNGP), Borivali.The committee has been tasked with the following functions:(i) To ensure the expeditious construction of a boundary wall along with the limits of Sanjay Gandhi National Park to prevent any further encroachments;(ii) To suggest measures for the compliance of the orders passed by the Court and such other measures are required to be taken for the protection of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park;(iii) To suggest measures for the identification of lands, construction and funding of rehabilitation tenements for rehabilitating encroachers who may be evicted from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park;(iv) To take inputs from all concerned agencies in the identification of lands where the construction of rehabilitation tenements can be carried out,(v) For the removal of encroachments from Sanjay Gandhi National Park,(vi) To enquire into the various related interim applications pending before the High Court, including one such application filed by the State government and after hearing of the necessary parties, submit a report to this Court as regards each of such pending interim applications..The Court directed the State government to ensure its cooperation and support for the committee. The State has been directed to provide office space, vehicles, secretarial and police assistance, and other infrastructure to the committee. "Any failure to render assistance to High Power Committee or refusal or disobedience of any request, order, directions of the High Power Committee shall be treated as breach of this order and appropriate proceedings including contempt proceedings may be taken against the concerned persons," the Court warned.While the retired judge will be paid ₹1 lakh per sitting as remuneration, the other members will get ₹55,000..Earlier, the petitioners had told the Court that thirty years have elapsed since the filing of the original plea and various orders have been passed by the Court since 1997 for the protection of the park, but the State government has not taken effective steps to comply with them. The Court then asked Advocate General Birendra Saraf to apprise it about the encroachments and any rehabilitation scheme for the occupiers of the land within the park.In response, Saraf assured the Court that the State was taking all steps to comply with the judicial orders. He also submitted that out of 90 acres of land earmarked to rehabilitate the encroachers, approximately 44 acres of land would be immediately made available for residential development. "As regards the balance 46 acres, the same would be processed very soon if the land is not included in the final notification for forest," the State counsel added..The Court then proceeded to constitute the High Court Committee. The panel has been directed to submit its first report before the Court within three months from the date of its first meeting."We appreciate the proactive approach adopted by Dr. Saraf, the learned Advocate General, in facilitating the constitution of the Committee. We direct the State Government to publish on their website including of respondent nos. 1 and 2, the details of the Committee as well as the schedule of its meetings, so that all concerned parties remain apprised of the proceedings in the matter. If the Committee so considers appropriate, the minutes of its meetings may also be published on the said websites," the Court further ordered.The matter will be heard next on February 19, 2026..Senior Advocate Janak Dwarkadas with advocate Namrata Vinod appeared for the petitioner in the contempt of court petition.Advocates Hemant Ghadigaonkar, Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi represented the petitioner in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2023.Advocates Vishal Kanade and Biswadeep Chakravarty represented an intervenor.Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf appeared along with Assistant Government Pleader Prashant Kamble for the State..[Read Order]