Nashik: Forest officials raid illegal onion market on reserved forest land

An onion market project was being set up illegally on 10 acres of reserved forest land in Pokhri Shivar along the Jalgaon highway in Nandgaon taluka. After getting information that the project is in its final stage of construction, the vigilance team of the forest department conducted a raid in the area on Thursday. This project will be completely sealed soon. The forest lands in Nashik district, especially in Nandgaon taluka, are being used extensively for commercial purposes instead of cultivation. The basic status of the forest area never changes, and it always remains a forest under the law.

Due to this, forest lands cannot be bought or sold. The land is not sold but is only transferred to heirs by inheritance, for which the permission of the Union government is mandatory. The forest department has said that the sale and purchase of forest land are illegal and should be cancelled.

The chief conservator of forests, Nitin Gudge, and the sub-conservator of forests, Umesh Wawar, received a complaint about an onion market project being set up in this forest land on about ten acres. According to the information received, they directed divisional forest officer Vishal Mali to act on the issue. Mali, along with a team led by forest ranger Sanjay Pawar conducted a raid. A forest crime has been registered against the director of Sanap Agro Private Limited.

Mali said that the accused, Prashant Shivajirao Sanap, had purchased the land acquired from the revenue department, converted it to occupier-1 type without taking any permission from the forest department, and started the construction of the onion market project in this forest area. The company has been instructed to raze this project. It has now come to light through the action of the forest department that the forest lands given by the revenue department for the livelihood of locals are being illegally used. The vigilance team has succeeded in exposing various such cases in the district. Forest officials said that illegal transactions were done by converting the forest land from occupier-2 to one without informing the forest department. After the action of the forest department, now the forest lands have been vacated.