Thane forest dept issues notice to 1,299 houses in landslide prone areas

The Thane forest department has issued a notice to 1,299 houses in the three landslide prone areas of Kalwa in Maharashtra’s Thane district. The department has claimed that these structures are illegal and on steep slopes, thus dangerous. It has asked the residents to submit their property documents, or these structures will be razed.

Forest officials have also formed ten teams to verify the property records of these structures.

The houses that notices have been sent to are located in Aatkoneshwar Nagar, Waghoba Nagar and Gholai Nagar in Kalwa. The forest officials said they have also submitted the list of these houses to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Limited to ensure that the power and water supply to these homes are disconnected.

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An officer from forest department said, “We started surveying the hillocks in Kalwa last week. As per the survey, there are 1,200 houses in extreme landslide prone areas. We are also checking since when was property tax levied on these slums, and when were water and power supplied.”

He added that the department will demolish these structures if the residents do not respond to the notice. The survey has identified 425 hutments in Gholai, Parsik and Indira Nagar, 432 in Aatkoneshwar Nagar, Bhaskar Nagar and Paundpada, and 442 in Waghoba Nagar and Kargil Khonda.

He added, “We will construct a protection wall after these houses are demolished to prevent further encroachment in these areas. A budget of Rs8 crore has been allotted for the same.”

The concerned TMC officials said they have not yet received the notice, so no decision has yet been taken to disconnect the water connections.

On July 19, five persons from a family, including three children, were killed in a landslide in Gholai Nagar, Kalwa.