Forest department shocker to Mumbai suburban residents: pay more to regularise homes on forestland

Over half a million residents living in the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai have been asked to shell out extra money for regularisation of their homes on land classified as private forestland. The forest department had earlier asked them to pay at the rate of Rs 6 per sq foot (0.30 metre). But now they have been asked to pay more after the forest department increased the net present value (NPV) of the forestland. Its NPV was increased because of reclassification of the land from barren to dense forest.