Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has dismissed a batch of appeals filed by settlers challenging eviction from three reserve forests in Assam’s Nagaon district, holding that “genuine hardship cannot by itself create a legal right over reserved forest land.”
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury upheld an earlier order of a single judge, which had dismissed writ petitions challenging speaking orders issued by the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Nagaon Division.
The DFO had concluded that the appellants were in unauthorised occupation of land within the notified Barapani, Lutumari and Kaki Reserve Forests and directed consequential action in accordance with law.
Appearing for the settlers, senior counsel A.R. Bhuyan argued that several families had lived in the area for generations and that the court should balance environmental protection with the rights of long-settled communities, particularly where occupation was claimed to have originated under government arrangements.
Opposing the appeals, Additional Advocate General P.N. Goswami submitted that the land formed part of duly notified reserve forests and that neither the appellants nor their predecessors had acquired any legally enforceable rights. He argued that the Taungya arrangements cited by the settlers were temporary administrative measures intended to facilitate plantation activities.
Dismissing the appeals, the court observed that while some settlements had existed for long periods and civic amenities had gradually been extended to such areas, these factors did not create legal rights over reserve forest land.
“These considerations undoubtedly call for sensitivity and humane governance. However, even genuine hardship cannot by itself create a legal right over reserved forest land where none exists,” the bench said.
The court endorsed the single judge’s directions on rehabilitation and clarified that its order would not prevent the state from extending the benefits of any rehabilitation policy, scheme or executive decision to eligible persons.
Taking note of the ongoing monsoon, the bench extended the time granted to the settlers to vacate the reserve forests from the period fixed by the single judge to 45 days.