Guwahati: The Supreme Court of India has directed all State Governments and Union Territories to transfer possession of lands officially recorded as ‘Forest Land’ but currently held by Revenue Departments to the respective Forest Departments.
This directive came while the apex court was adjudicating a case exposing a purported nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, and builders.
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This alleged collusion resulted in them illegally converting valuable forest land for commercial development by using the guise of resettling individuals from backward classes, whose ancestral agricultural land they had acquired for public projects.
According to Verdictum, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, Justice Augustine George Masih, and Justice K. Vinod Chandran emphatically stated, “It is necessary that we issue a direction to all the State Governments and the Union Territories to hand over the possession of the lands which are recorded as ‘Forest Land’ and which the Revenue Department possesses to the Forest Department.”
The bench further stated that any allocation of forest land to private individuals or institutions for non-forestry purposes after December 12, 1996 – the date of previous court directions on the matter – would be legally untenable.
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The case in question involved a 32-acre 35 Gunthas plot in Pune, initially designated as a Reserved Forest in 1879. While the authorities de-reserved a small portion in 1934, the remaining 29 Acres and 15 Gunthas retained their forest land status.
The controversy arose when the authorities later allotted this forest land to a ‘Chavan Family’ as an alternative for their agricultural land, which they had acquired decades prior for a leprosy hospital, with allegations that they had not paid compensation initially.
The court’s investigation revealed a series of questionable decisions, including the Tehsildar’s initial temporary land release, a subsequent state government resolution to permanently release leased forest land for cultivation (despite the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 coming into effect requiring central government approval for de-reservation), and ultimately, the granting of permissions for non-agricultural use and construction of a residential complex (“Raheja Richmond Park”) without proper legal sanction. Someone even presented a fabricated 1944 gazette notification to argue for prior de-reservation.
The Supreme Court unequivocally stated, “After the 1980 FC Act came into effect, the Central Government required permission to de-reserve any Forest Land; the court found the said Gazette Notification to be fabricated.”
The court deemed the state government and the collector’s actions illegal, asserting that the 1998 allotment to the ‘Chavan Family’ violated the 1980 FC Act and previous court orders.
Citing the consistent strengthening of forest protection laws since 1878, the court condemned the misuse of the ‘Chavan Family’s’ backward class status as a pretext for developers to seize valuable forest land for commercial gain.
It further held the then Revenue Minister of Maharashtra and the Divisional Commissioner of Pune accountable for breaching public trust by illegally benefiting private individuals at the expense of precious forest land.
The court directed that, wherever possible, authorities must reclaim possession of such illegally transferred forest land and hand it over to the Forest Department for afforestation.
However, if individuals/institutions have already converted the land for non-forest activities and reclaiming it is not in the larger public interest, the respective States/UTs must recover the land’s cost from them and utilize those funds for afforestation, restoration, and conservation efforts.
The court therefore issued the key direction that the Revenue Department must transfer possession of the recorded ‘Forest Land’ it holds to the Forest Department within three months.
- It directed the Chief Secretaries of all States and Administrators of all UTs must form SITs to investigate any allotment of reserved forest land by Revenue Departments for non-forestry purposes.
The higher court mandated the State Governments and UTs to reclaim possession of such illegally allotted lands from individuals/institutions and hand them over to the Forest Department.
Furthermore, the court directed that the Chief Secretaries and Administrators must establish Special Teams to ensure the completion of all such transfers within one year, and these teams must ensure the exclusive use of the reclaimed land for afforestation.