Restore forest land illegally allotted to private entities: SC
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed all the states and Union territories to constitute special investigation teams (SITs) to restore forest lands that have been illegally allotted to private entities and recover costs in cases where taking back possession was not in larger public interest.
The direction came in a judgment delivered in a matter related to 'illegal' allotment of 11.89-hectare reserved forest land in Pune, Maharashtra to a housing society — Richie Rich Cooperative Housing Society Limited (RRCHS) — in October 1999. The court in its order called out the role of then Maharashtra revenue minister and then divisional commissioner, who ensured the allotment of land to the housing society by bypassing the Forest Conservation Act, objections raised by bureaucrats on the land meant for agricultural purpose, and a 1996 top court verdict in the landmark TN Godavarman case that gave an expansive meaning to the definition of forests under the FC Act.
A bench headed by chief justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai said: 'We direct chief secretaries of all the states and administrators of all the union territories to constitute special investigation teams (SIT) for the purpose of examining as to whether any of the reserved forest land in the possession of the revenue department has been allotted to any private individuals/institutions for any purpose other than the forestry purpose.'
The bench, also comprising justices AG Masih and K Vinod Chandran, further directed states and UTs to 'take steps to take back the possession of the land from the persons or institutions in possession of such lands and handover the same to the forest department.'
'In case, it is found that taking back the possession of the land would not be in the larger public interest, the state governments/UTs should recover the cost of the said land from the persons/institutions to whom they were allotted and use the said amount for the purpose of development of forests,' the verdict, authored by the CJI, added.
Such transfer of land should be completed within a period of one year, the bench ordered.
In the Pune case, the bench held that the allotment of 11.89 hectare of the reserved forest land in Kondhwa Budruk village for agriculture purposes on August 28, 1998 and subsequent permission given for its sale in favour of RRCHS on October 30, 1999 was 'totally illegal'.
'We also have no hesitation to hold that the then minister for revenue and the then divisional commissioner, Pune, have given a total go-bye to the doctrine of public trust inasmuch as, valuable forest land was allotted to the 'Chavan family' de hors the provisions of the law,' it said, noting the land was allotted in favour of one 'Chavan family' in 1998.
'The present matter is a classic example as to how the nexus between the politicians, bureaucrats and the builders can result in the conversion of precious forest land for commercial purposes under the garb of resettlement of people belonging to the backward class from whose ancestors, agricultural land was acquired for public purpose,' it added.
The court quashed the environmental clearance granted by the Union environment ministry on July 3, 2007 to RRCHS. It directed that possession of the subject land, which is reserved as a forest land but is in possession of the revenue department, should be handed over to the forest department within three months.
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