India, Aug. 7 -- The Maharashtra government has decided to restore to the forest department the ownership of nearly 1,100 acres of land belonging to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Thane. State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who was hearing the matter as a quasi-judicial authority, announced the final order on Thursday, saying that this brought to an end the ownership claims made by private individuals on the land.

The dispute pertained to around 1,053 acres of land that was in the possession of the forest department after being acquired in 1975 under the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act. A certain Kapil Sharma and others had approached the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal (MRT), claiming ownership of the l...