Maharashtra: No concrete plans for invisible road; watch video

Santosh Ghate of Kadai Dhangarwada shows how the road exists on government records, with even a village road number, but not on ground. Pic/Atul Kamble

Don't use Google Maps to get to Karambali Thakurwadi and Kadai Dhangarwada in Raigad district. The tribal hamlets are located 103 km from Mumbai in Khalapur Tehsil, and though Google Maps may show a smooth blue ride, there is no road on ground. In its article titled Aakhri Rasta dated May 19, 2024, mid-day had highlighted that the invisible road exists in government records.

And here in the midst of the mountains, living on the hillock is life-threatening. Many of the tribals supply milk to the villages below daily, and then climb up with provisions on their heads, often accompanied by their livestock and dogs. Each step is a slide two to three steps down, and the constant rain dislodges large rocks and causes landslides. The 5.5-km stretch becomes more treacherous after dark when wild creatures venture out. Snake bites are common, as is falling into ditches and skidding. "Our nearest main road is at Donvat, 10.5 km away," says Santosh Ghate of Kadai Dhangarwada.

He's speaking of the road that goes from Donvat to Ujaoli village, of which a five-km stretch is usable. But from the road from Ujaoli to Karamabali Thakurwadi and Kadai Dhangarwada villages, another 5.5 km is missing. It firmly exists though, on government records and is also assigned a village road number. "In monsoon, the entire stretch is mucky. So we can't risk using two-wheelers. Walking is the only way in and out," says Yeshwant Made, a 23-year-old from the Karambali Thakurwadi village.

Many tribal residents of Karambali Thakurwadi and Kadai Dhangarwada carry canisters down the slippery slope every day to supply milk to the villages below

In the recent past, two members of the Ghate family from Kadai Dhangarwada village had a near-death experience. Khanu Ghate, 49, fell into a ditch on his way home from work as he climbed the slippery stretch, and his nine-year-old daughter was bitten by a poisonous snake. Khanu, who works as a casual labourer, said, "Our demand for a road has not yielded any result till now." On July 6, Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare held a high-level meeting with district officials from different departments and raised serious concerns about the Goa-Panvel highway and the status of roads to 38 tribal hamlets in his district. "The MP directed Raigad police to register FIRs against errant road contractors," said an official present in the review meeting.

He explained that 500 metres of the proposed road for the two hamlets, passes through private land, and some stretches fall under the Forest department. "The landowner is not willing to release his rights," he added, "without compensation and land acquisition powers are vested with the district Collector. Various government schemes, including the Thakkar Bappa scheme, allows construction of internal and connecting roads using bitumen or concrete roads, but for that we require land without encumbrances."

So it all comes down to who has the sanction, and the requisite might, to twist the required arms for the road to come true. It falls upon the zilla parishad to acquire the private stretch of land, and the District Collector to negotiate the compensation. "As per our records, 38 to 39 hamlets in the entire district have no road connectivity," says Satyajit Bade, additional chief executive officer, zilla parishad, Raigad, "Though funds are available, some land [parcels] are privately owned while some are with the Forest department. Unless the Block Development Officer (BDO) gets a freehold land parcel, nothing can be done. To acquire the private land, we can only forward a requisition to the District Collector's office as those powers rest with the Revenue department."

The Forest department says it has received no request for an NOC for road construction, while the Khalapur office says they have pushed the file. "I pushed the proposal file to higher authorities, and it has come back to me without approval," Rajendra Pawar, range forest officer, Khalapur, says. "I have not received any proposal concerning Karambali Thakurwadi and Kadai Dhangarwada, or anywhere else," says Rahul Patil, deputy conservator of forest, Alibaug, "If it is sent to me, I will do the needful, provided it concerns Forest land."

Till then, the villagers risk their life every day as it is quite possible that they will not see the road this monsoon. "In a recent meeting with tribals," said Santosh Thakur, founder-president, Gram Sanvardan Samajik Sanstha, "the tehsildar and Forest officials passed the buck to each other as they have been doing for the past three years. A portion of the land is private, and till today they haven't acquired it for the tribal welfare." According to him, the maximum financial limit for road construction under Thakkar Bappa Scheme is only Rs 14 lakh. "And here we have to construct a 5.5-km stretch of road, which will cost much more," he says. Thakur has threatened to move a PIL in the Bombay High Court if local administration fails to resolve the issue.

But there is also another story brewing. The two hamlets fall under two different gram panchayats. Karambali Thakurwadi comes under Kahariwali gram panchayat, and Kadai Dhangarwada under Kanav gram panchayat. Last month, the Kahariwali gram panchayat had written a letter to the landlady Indira Manish Shah, 76, requesting her consent NOC for allotting a small portion of her privately owned land for road construction.

Manali Mhase, gram sevak, at Kahariwali Gram Panchayat confirmed to mid-day about the letter to Shah in June 2024. Mhase said, "Our Deputy Sarpanch Sushant Vichare will be holding a meeting with members of the panchayat in the coming week, to appraise them about his willingness to meet Indira at her Mumbai residence. I will also accompany the team and we will request Shah to allot us the 500 metres (approximately 1,500-1,600 sq feet) of her land for road construction."

Highly placed sources from the district administration informed mid-day that the range forest officer, Khalapur, had written a letter to the Panchayat Samiti (Group A) on July 1, 2022 (copy with this paper), raising queries pertaining to road connectivity till Karambali Thakurwadi. The copy of the said letter was also marked to gram sevak, Kahariwali gram panchayat.

Nilesh Khillare, deputy engineer, zilla parishad, Karjat, confirmed the same. According to Khillare, while most of the queries raised by the forest department compliance has been done, the NOC from the private land owner is still awaited. The 500-metre (approximately 1,500 to 1,600 sq feet) private land coming in way of the road construction for the tribal hamlets, is a part of around 44 acres of private land owned by late Manish Lakshmidas Shah, 86, a resident of Versova, who was into land dealing business. He passed away on April 3, 2023. According to Rajendra Pawar, 62, a caretaker working for Shah for over 40 years, his late boss has a family: wife Indira Shah and two children.

Shah was into a business of buying and selling of land. He had bought around 300 acres of land between 1976 to 1980, in and around Kahariwali gram panchayat, and other neighbouring gram panchayats in Khalapur Tehsil. He sold a major part of the land bank over the period of time. At present, only 44 acres of land parcel is left. According to Pawar, Manish Shah received a letter from the Kahariwali gram panchayat on August 28, 2022, intimating them about the need for 500 metres of land for road construction. At that time, Shah was not in good health and could not respond to the letter. Pawar said, "We are in the process of completing legal formalities to transfer the properties in the name of Indira Shah. We have no problem in giving NOC. It is for tribal welfare and we have no objection to giving the same."

Pawar also said, "On April 30, 2024 (a year after the Manish Shah's death), Indira Shah wrote a letter (dated April 20, 2024) to the Gram Panchayat in response to their letter of August 28, 2022, expressing willingness and consent to give a NOC." However, the Shahs recently received another letter a few weeks ago from the Kahariwali Gram Panchayat. Pawar said, "It seems, they have not received the letter written by Indrani Shah on April 20, and dispatched on April 30. I will be visiting Khalapur and will personally hand over the copy of the letter, and will also get a new letter made from Indrani Shah, on her return to India, early next week." When asked if they had demanded any money as compensation against the land, Pawar answered, "If the land is getting acquired by the district administration, we do not mind getting paid as per the government rules, but at the same time, we won't hesitate to donate our NOC for tribal welfare work like road construction, as it is only a small portion of land."