Decks cleared for regularisation of ashram inside Tungareshwar sanctuary

Mumbai: The standing committee of the State Board of Wildlife (SBWL) on Wednesday cleared a proposal to regularise an ashram on 0.69 hectares of forest land located inside the Tungareshwar wildlife sanctuary. The ashram is owned and managed by the Shri Balayogi Sadanand Maharaj Ashram Trust, and the decision paves the way for regularisation of the controversial structure, subject to approval of the National Board of Wildlife and the ministry of environment, forests and climate change.
Earlier, the central empowered committee under the supreme court and SBWL had recommended removal of the encroachment. Several officials including the principal chief conservator of forests Shomita Biswas too had opposed any regularisation of the structure.
Speaking to HT, forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar confirmed the development, saying, “The Maharaj has done great work and contributed a lot to society. Chief minister Eknath Shinde and former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik had been following up on efforts to regularise his ashram in Parol village under Vasai taluka, which has come through now.”
The ashram was constructed on forest land in the early 1970s and offences against it were registered 1977 onwards. But these offences were withdrawn in 1983, on condition that the godman/ his disciples would form a trust to manage the structure, which they complied with.
In 2004, the Thane forest division and the state government separately submitted proposals to the ministry of environment and forests, seeking diversion of 0.69 hectares in favor of the Shri Sadanand Maharaj Ashram Trust. But both proposals were rejected by the ministry in 2004-05.
Subsequently, the Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG), a Mumbai-based non-profit, lodged a complaint regarding the encroachment with the central empowered committee constituted by the supreme court. In its report submitted before the court in 2009, the committee recommended that the ashram be relocated outside the sanctuary, in Hinglood village under Shahpur taluka, where the trust owned a larger plot.
Later in 2018, SBWL discussed the issue of fresh encroachments by the ashram beyond the 0.69-hectare area and ordered their removal. The ashram complied with the order but also resubmitted a proposal seeking diversion of 0.69 hectares.
Meanwhile, the Conservation Action Trust (CAT), another Mumbai-based non-profit, filed a writ petition in the supreme court. In July-August 2019, the court ordered the state government to clear all encroachments by the ashram barring the main temple, three rooms adjacent to it and the samadhi, which was complied with.
On March 20, 2023, chief minister Eknath Shinde convened a meeting regarding the issue and directed the trust managing the ashram to submit a fresh proposal for land diversion. This was the proposal that was cleared during the standing committee meeting on Wednesday.
Environmentalists slammed the move to regularise the structure. “The ashram is illegal and two reports of central empowered committee had said that it needs to be removed. The state wildlife board too had rejected a proposal for regularisation. I wonder how its standing committee can now overturn the decision,” said Debi Goenka from Conservation Action Trust.