Pawan Kalyan calls for public to protect nature, announces biodiversity parks in all districts
VIJAYAWADA : Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan on Thursday urged the public, especially youth, to become active protectors of nature, warning that forest encroachment is on the rise while defenders of biodiversity are dwindling.
Speaking at the International Biodiversity Day celebrations at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram, he emphasised that the first step toward protecting biodiversity must begin at home.
As part of the State government's commitment, Pawan Kalyan announced that a Biodiversity Park will be established in every district and a Village Forest (Palle Vanam) in every village to safeguard local ecosystems.
'Thousands of trees can be planted just by creating and dispersing seed balls,' he said. 'Unfortunately, many leaders today look at open land as property to grab. But when I see a vacant space, I see a future forest.'
He also expressed concern over the rapid destruction of mangrove forests, which naturally form along coastal regions and act as protective barriers during natural disasters such as cyclones and tsunamis.
'Mangroves are our frontline defence during coastal disasters. It is tragic that they are being destroyed,' he said, adding that the state government is formulating plans to increase mangrove cover across Andhra Pradesh. He called on individuals and communities to become stewards of the environment.
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According to the report, Zudpi jungle lands are peculiar to six districts of eastern Vidarbha (Nagpur division) – Nagpur, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Wardha, and Gondia – and have been used for non-forest purposes for the past several decades. These lands, traditionally used for grazing, were classified as Gairan under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. For decades, legal status uncertain Vidarbha's Zudpi lands remained in a legal limbo for decades due to administrative lapses, inconsistent government actions, and contrasting interpretations of India's forest laws. Initially vested with the Revenue Department, these lands were used for development, public amenities like schools, health centres, water pipelines, burial grounds, and for allotment to landless farmers. They were also used for infrastructure projects, including railways, defence, and irrigation. After the reorganisation of states in 1960, similar lands elsewhere in Maharashtra were recorded as Gairan or Gurcharan. However, in Vidarbha, they continued to be classified as 'Zudpi Jungle' due to bureaucratic inaction. The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA) prohibited diversion of forest land without the Centre's approval. However, in November 1987, the Maharashtra government issued an order declaring Zudpi lands as 'scrub forests' that would not attract the provisions of FCA, and handed them to the Revenue Department for afforestation and grazing purposes. This 1987 Government Order was challenged by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. While this plea was pending, the Centre in February 1992 changed and relaxed its earlier position. 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In 2019, the Maharashtra government, through the Divisional Commissioner, Nagpur, filed an interim application and sought the SC's approval to exclude the latter category of land from the purview of FCA. The SC formed a Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which filed its first report after site visits. Since some issues were yet to be resolved, the SC last year sought another report from the CEC. This report formed the basis of the SC's May 22, 2025 verdict. GOVERNMENT: The Maharashtra government argued that Zudpi lands were never forest lands, and due to the reorganisation of states and the inaction of certain officials, the revenue records were never corrected. As such, these lands continued to be erroneously described as Zudpi lands in revenue records. The state argued that denying it relief would lead to 'grave and irreparable damage' to lakhs of citizens, and would stall several projects. 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