Adivasis continue protest in Nagarahole

Fifty-two families of the Adivasis -- most of them Jenu Kurubas -- entered the forest on Monday, blaming the Forest Department for the delay in looking into their claims made under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The officials have stated that the claims were rejected earlier.

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Indian Express

2 days ago

• Indian Express

Illegal forest land acquisition case: ED freezes assets worth Rs 44 crore in raids on properties of contractor JM Mhatre

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen bank balances, fixed deposits and mutual funds to the tune of approximately Rs 44 crore and seized cash amounting to Rs 16.5 lakh after raiding the properties belonging to contractor J M Mhatre of J M Mhatre Infrastructure Private Limited in Dadar and Panvel on Tuesday in connection with the money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal acquisition of forest land in Navi Mumbai. Apart from this, a large number of incriminating documents have also been seized by ED, the central agency stated on Wednesday. The search operation was aimed at unearthing the land scam and tracing the proceeds of the crime, ED said. Mhatre, a long-time member of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), has previously served as the chairperson of the Panvel Municipal Council, prior to its upgrade to a municipal corporation. Having spent the majority of his political career with the PWP, Mhatre made a significant shift in May this year when he, along with his son, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of BJP working president Ravindra Chavan and Cabinet Minister Ashish Shelar. The central agency's case against Mhatre is based on the complaint filed by the range forest officer of the Forest Department in Uran under the Alibagh division in September 2024 at the Panvel Police Station. As per the Panvel police's FIR, the accused illegally acquired the government forest land by making a duplicate entry in the mutation in 2005. According to ED, the case against Mhatre and Saiyyed Mohammad Abdul Hamid Qadri pertains to the illegal acquisition of forest land and its subsequent illegal transfer to NHAI and the wrong claim of land compensation by the accused. The land in question is at Survey Numbers 427/1 (area 41.70 hectares) and 436/1 (area 110.60 hectares) of Mauje Vahal, Taluka Panvel, Dist-Raigad (subject land). ED stated in a release that their investigation has revealed that the said land was acquired by the Government of Maharashtra in 1975 under relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, 1975, and thereafter the name of the owner in the 7/12 extract was changed to the Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra. Subsequently, the mutation entry of the subject land has been tampered with, and the owner name, viz. Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra, was replaced with that of the accused illegally. Some parcels of land were illegally sold to NHAI, for which Mhatre received illegal compensation of Rs 42.4 crore and Qadri received illegal compensation of Rs 9.69 crore. This pertains to the alleged illegal acquisition of forest land and its subsequent illegal transfer to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the ED stated.

Time of India

2 days ago

• Time of India

Forest dept dismantles Jenu Kuruba tents in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve

Mysuru: Weeks after more than four dozen Jenu Kuruba families entered Nagarahole Tiger Reserve and set up temporary tents, claiming land rights, the state forest department on Wednesday dismantled six temporary tents erected at Attur Kolli Haadi inside Nagarahole forest. The operation was carried out under tight security after the indigenous dwellers' claims over the forest area were rejected by the sub-division level forest rights committee (SDLC) in Madikeri on May 22. The claimants were given an opportunity to appeal the SDLC decision at the district-level committee within 60 days. Meanwhile, the Jenu Kuruba families alleged the operation was inhumane. "These six sheds were constructed only after taking permission at the gram sabha on May 20. The gram sabha was organised under the Forest Rights Act. Now, the forest department has violated the provisions of the act," they charged. According to the forest department, the Jenu Kuruba families had illegally entered and occupied an area of the Attur-Kolli forest within the Nagarahole Wildlife Range on May 5 and had been residing there since then. Six sheds were illegally constructed on June 17 by clearing the vegetation and chopping off around 42 small-sized trees, officials said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo A notice was issued to the tribal community heads the same day to clear out the six new tents, and they were given another opportunity on Wednesday to voluntarily remove the structures. However, they refused and blocked forest and police personnel from entering the area. The personnel then reached the spot through an alternative route and cleared out the area, ACF (Nagarahole wildlife sub-division) J Ananya Kumar said in a press release. However, forest officials clarified that the structures erected on May 5 were not dismantled.

Hans India

2 days ago

• Hans India

Forest land compensation scam: ED freezes Rs 44 crore assets after raids in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed a massive illegal land compensation scam involving the fraudulent transfer of forest land and wrongful compensation claims, after searches conducted across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. On June 17, the ED's Mumbai Zonal Office carried out coordinated search operations at multiple premises linked to the accused. The raids resulted in the freezing of bank balances, fixed deposits, and mutual funds worth approximately Rs 44 crore. In addition, officials seized Rs 16.5 lakh in cash and a substantial cache of incriminating documents. The ED initiated its probe based on an FIR lodged by Panvel Police against J M Mhatre and Saiyyed Mohammad Abdul Hamid Qadri. The case pertains to the illegal acquisition and tampering of government-owned forest land in Raigad district, specifically Survey Nos. 427/1 (41.70 hectares) and 436/1 (110.60 hectares) in Mauje Vahal, Taluka Panvel. Investigations revealed that the land had been acquired by the Maharashtra government in 1975 under the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, with official land records reflecting the Forest Department as the rightful owner. However, the accused allegedly manipulated the mutation entries in the land records, replacing the Forest Department's name with their own. The fraud did not stop at the tampering of records. Portions of the illegally acquired land were sold to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and in return, the accused claimed illegal compensation. J M Mhatre received Rs 42.4 crore, while Qadri was paid Rs 9.69 crore by NHAI, based on the fraudulent ownership records. Mhatre, identified as the prime accused, is a prominent businessman and director of J M Mhatre Infra Pvt Ltd. ED officials suspect the proceeds of this crime were laundered through investments in various financial instruments. The investigation is ongoing, with ED officials indicating that more individuals and shell entities may be under the scanner.