Do Zudpi Lands Get ‘Forest' Protection? SC To Deliver Verdict Today
The judgment, according to court sources, will be pronounced by a bench led by newly appointed Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai.
The decision is expected to significantly affect development in Vidarbha, where several public infrastructure projects have been stalled due to the legal ambiguity surrounding zudpi lands — forest land in official records but often used for non-forest purposes. The litigation challenges a series of govt resolutions (GRs) and policy changes between 2014 and 2018 that facilitated easier diversion of these lands without adhering to the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA), 1980.
Originally, in 1961, the state had 9.23 lakh hectares of zudpi jungle, of which 6.55 lakh hectares were classified as protected or reserved forests. Of the remaining 2.68 lakh hectares, 92,115 hectares were found suitable for forestry, with 73,211 hectares already notified as reserved forest under Section 4 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. From the balance 1.76 lakh hectares, over 89,768 hectares were reportedly diverted for non-forest use by 1992.
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The remaining 86,409 hectares now form the core of the Supreme Court proceedings.
Environmentalists argue that these lands are protected under the Supreme Court's December 12, 1996, judgment in the landmark Godavarman case (WP 202/1995), which defined 'forest land' to include any area recorded as forest, regardless of ownership or use. They questioned the legal validity of the March 4, 2014, GR that diluted procedural safeguards, and subsequent policies issued in 2017 and 2018 that eased diversion and permitted land transfers without central clearance.
"Zudpi lands are unique to Vidarbha and have no equivalent classification in any other part of India," said one petitioner, highlighting how these tracts have remained in legal limbo for decades, stalling essential infrastructure such as schools, health centres, water supply networks, and even public institutions.
A six-member panel headed by then divisional commissioner Anoop Kumar had recommended denotifying the land as forest and reclassifying it as revenue land.
With multiple parties awaiting clarity — including development agencies, state departments, and environmentalists — the Supreme Court verdict is expected to set a precedent not only for Vidarbha but for land governance policy in other forested regions too.
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