India, April 8 -- The Bombay High Court on Monday issued contempt notices to Thane municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao and assistant director (town planning) Sangram Kanade for failing to grant a Development Rights Certificate (DRC) or Transferable Development Rights (TDR) to real estate firm D Dahyabhai & Company Private Limited (DDCPL) for surrendering 404,721 square metres (approximately 100 acres) of its land to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

On February 20, the high court had ordered the TMC to grant the DRC or TDR within 21 days from February 25, bringing a 50-year-old dispute to a close. The dispute was over whether over 193 acres of land in Manpada, Thane, should be classified as a "private forest" and acquired by the stat...