Bombay HC forms high-powered panel to save Sanjay Gandhi National Park

The Bombay High Court has constituted a high-power committee headed by former Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale to protect and preserve the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) after observing that successive governments have failed to implement its directions to safeguard the park for nearly 30 years. 

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad was hearing a contempt petition and a PIL alleging “gross contempt” of multiple orders aimed at safeguarding SGNP, a 104 sq.km. green expanse within Mumbai and Thane. Despite repeated judicial interventions since the late 1990s, the court noted that the State had not taken “effective steps” to comply with its directions. 

The order passed on October 16 and made available on Wednesday (October 22, 2025), said, “Various orders passed by this Court over a period of thirty years are still to be complied with. This has perhaps led to further encroachments in SGNP.” The Bench cited Google Earth images annexed to the petition that showed incomplete boundary wall construction and continuing illegal structures. 

The court recorded that only 49 km of the 154 km boundary wall has been built, despite orders in 1997, 1999, 2000 and a final judgment in 2003. Even subsequent directions in 2024 and early 2025 were not followed. The judges observed that this prolonged inaction has allowed encroachments to spread deeper into the park. 

Calling SGNP “a crown jewel for the cities of Mumbai and Thane”, the Bench observed, “Considering the present scenario, and to ensure that steps are taken for protection of SGNP, we deem it necessary to constitute a High Power Committee.” 

The committee will include Justice Bhosale as chairperson, former Maharashtra Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer, former Director General of Police Subodhkumar Jaiswal, and Anita Patil, Conservator of Forests and SGNP director, as member secretaries. The panel has to expedite construction of the boundary wall, suggest measures for compliance, identify land and oversee rehabilitation of encroachers, and recommend steps for removal of illegal structures. It will examine pending interim applications and submit reports to the court. 

“The chairman and the other members of the High Power Committee will be paid ₹1,00,000/- and ₹55,000/ respectively per sitting. 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 Bench observed.

All State agencies must provide “fullest support and co-operation”, including office space, vehicles, secretarial assistance, police assistance and other infrastructure.

The first report must be filed within three months of its inaugural meeting. The State has to publish details of the committee and its meeting schedule on official websites, and, if deemed appropriate, the minutes of meetings. 

Advocate General Birendra Saraf assured the court that 44 acres of land would be immediately made available for rehabilitation, with another 46 acres to follow, subject to forest notifications.

The matter will be heard next on February 19, 2026.

SGNP is one of the few national parks in the world located within city limits. Spread over 104 sq km, it is home to leopards, over 1,000 plant species, and the ancient Kanheri caves dating back to the 1st century BCE. The park acts as Mumbai’s “green lung”, absorbing carbon emissions and replenishing groundwater. Encroachments and unchecked urban sprawl have long threatened its ecosystem, prompting judicial intervention since the mid-1990s.