No action taken yet on the circular issued in January regarding the removal of encroachments on forts

Maharashtra Government’s circular ignored by Kolhapur District Administration

— Mr Ajay Kelkar, Kolhapur

Kolhapur (Maharashtra) – In January 2026, the Maharashtra Government issued an order through a circular regarding all forts and hill forts in the state. According to this order, a committee was to be established in every district under the chairmanship of the District Collector to remove encroachments on all forts and fortresses. The circular stated that encroachments should be removed within a fixed timeline from 1 February to 31 May, and periodic reports of the work should be submitted to the Government. The shocking fact is that Kolhapur district has not even shown the courtesy of forming such a committee, as per information obtained by Sanatan Prabhat.

1. In Maharashtra, there are currently 47 centrally protected forts under the Archaeological Survey of India and 62 state-protected forts under the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. To preserve and conserve all these forts and maintain this cultural heritage properly, it is essential to ensure that no encroachments take place on them.

2. The Government has observed that encroachments are occurring on central and state-protected forts, as well as on approximately 300 unprotected forts. To prevent law and order issues and damage to the beauty of these historic structures, the circular stated—following instructions from Chief Minister Fadnavis—that a committee should be formed under the District Collector in every district to remove encroachments from all forts and fortresses.

3. After the committee’s formation, it was directed that by 31 January the committee should review the forts in the district, prepare a list of all encroachments, and submit it to the Government. Thereafter, from 1st February to 31st May, encroachments were to be removed in a time-bound manner, with regular reports submitted to the Government. The committee was also instructed to ensure that no fresh encroachments occur after removal.

4. In the case of Kolhapur district, this committee itself was never formed. Therefore, preparing a list of encroachments and removing them are matters that never even progressed further.

Committee never formed

The Kolhapur district administration made no movement regarding this matter. In fact, the district administration was reportedly unaware that such a circular had been issued in January and February. When Sanatan Prabhat questioned the concerned administrative officers in April, they replied that “the process of forming the committee is underway.” However, with May now coming to an end, it has become evident that the committee still exists only on paper.

Form the committee immediately and remove encroachments within a fixed timeframe: Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

The failure to establish such a committee in Kolhapur district is extremely shocking and infuriating. This indifference by the administration toward protecting forts that stand as witnesses to the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is unacceptable. The situation is serious when the Government merely issues orders while the administration ignores them. The forts and fortresses are symbols of Maharashtra’s pride. Instead of removing encroachments on them, the administration has adopted an inactive stance, hurting the sentiments of history lovers and followers of Shivaji Maharaj. Even after being aware of the encroachments, the failure to form a committee raises the question: does this amount to indirect support by administrative officers for these encroachments? Or does it mean that the administration simply does not obey Government orders? With the monsoon approaching, when exactly does the administration plan to remove these encroachments? Therefore, the district administration must immediately form the committee and remove the encroachments within a fixed timeframe. Otherwise, the HJS will launch a strong agitation on this issue, warned Mr Sunil Ghanwat, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh State Coordinator of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.