4 minutes of readingFebruary 3, 2026 03:17 pm IST
Protests by Adivasi residents have forced the Forest Department to halt a demolition drive carried out last week inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, resurrecting a long-running dispute over who has the right to live inside the protected forest. While the Adivasi families say they are original residents who were expelled and later returned, the Forest Department maintains that all the original tribal residents were relocated in 1977 and that those living today within the park are encroachers.
Q) Why were demolition notices issued?
On January 17, the Forest Department issued notices to 10 villages within the SGNP, covering 385 houses in areas like Magathane, Malad and Gundgaon. The department described these homes as “reinvasions” built by families who were previously relocated but later returned to the park. The action follows a 1997 Bombay High Court order directing all encroachments within the SGNP to be removed. Families whose names appeared in the 1995 electoral lists were shifted to Chandivali and Powai after paying Rs 7,000. More than 10,000 families were rehabilitated under this plan. According to the Forest Department, 385 of these families later returned and rebuilt their houses within the park.
Q) Why has travel resumed now?
In 2023, a contempt petition was filed alleging that the 1997 court order had not been fully implemented. The High Court then set up a High Powered Committee (HPC) to restart the process. The committee decided that the 385 families who had returned after rehabilitation would be expelled first. Notices were issued asking families to file objections by January 24 and demolitions were planned between January 19 and 28.
Q) Why did Adivasis protest?
Residents say around 40 Adivasi homes were included in the list of 385 structures. This sparked protests in several villages including Navapada, Chinchpada, Tumnipada, Ravanpada and Ketlaipada. On Tuesday, protesters blocked the bulldozers and forced officials to halt the demolition campaign. Following a political intervention, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik ordered that demolitions be suspended for the time being.
Q) What is the position of the Forest Department?
The Forest Department says there are currently no “original” Adivasis living within the SGNP. It is based on a judgment of the Bombay High Court in the case of *Manik Rama Sapte v. State of Maharashtra. According to the department, the court held that all the original tribal families were expelled from the forest in 1977 and relocated to Palghar district. The department says those living inside the park now are squatters who returned after rehabilitation.
Q) What happened in 1977?
Forest officials say only a small number of tribal families lived within the forest area when the department took charge of it. These families were shifted in 1977 to Khutal village in Palghar district. The government says it spent money on their resettlement. Later, when the SGNP was formally notified as a national park under the Wildlife Protection Act, all land claims were examined and rejected.
Q) What did the High Court say next?
In 2003, the Bombay High Court accepted that Adivasis have a special relationship with forests, but rejected the claim that thousands of tribal families lived within the SGNP. The court said only a few hundred families were found and they had no legal rights over the forest land. He treated them the same as other invaders for the purposes of eviction and rehabilitation.
Q) Who are the Adivasis living in SGNP today?
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Former SGNP officials say many of the families who moved in 1977 returned later because rehabilitation failed. Over time, its population increased as families grew. The Forest Department argues that since they have already been rehabilitated once, they cannot claim forest rights again. Adivasi residents say their families have lived in the SGNP for generations and that they were expelled in 1977.
They say many returned because they could not survive in the relocation site.
They also point to the Forest Rights Act of 2006, under which their claims are still under verification. They wonder why they are treated as invaders despite being forest dwellers.
Q) Why have the demolitions stopped now?
The protests led to political intervention and Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik stated that tribal issues and rehabilitation would be reconsidered.
He has also said that some families may be given housing nearby, while those who returned after rehabilitation will be informed of the rules.
For now, the demolition has stopped, but the legal dispute over who has the right to live within the SGNP remains unresolved.