Form Special Investigation Teams to probe illegal diversion of forest land: Supreme Court to states and UTs

The Supreme Court has ordered states and union territories to set up Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to probe into an alleged nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and builders involved in conversion of “precious forest land” for commercial purposes under the garb of resettlement of people belonging to the backward class.

A three-judge Bench led by CJI BR Gavai on May 15 set aside the allotment and subsequent sale of 11.89 hectares of Reserved Forest land at Kondhwa Budruk in Pune, Maharashtra, originally granted to a private family and later transferred to Richie Rich Cooperative Housing Society Limited (RRCHS).

“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,” the top court said.

“We direct that the 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 a period of three months from today,” said the Bench which also included Justice AG Masih and Justice K Vinod Chandran.

Writing the judgment for the Bench, CJI Gavai directed “the Chief Secretaries of all the States and the Administrators of all the Union Territories to constitute Special Investigation Teams 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 top court ordered the state governments and the union territories “to take steps to take back the possession of the land from the persons/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/Union Territories 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.”

It also directed the Chief Secretaries of all the states and the Administrators of all the UTs “to constitute Special Teams to ensure that all such transfers take place within a period of one year from today. Needless to state that hereinafter such land should be used only for the purpose of afforestation.”

It held that the allotment of 11.89 ha of Reserve Forest land in Survey No. 21 (old Survey No. 20A) Kondhwa Budruk in District Pune for agriculture purposes on 28^th August 1998 and subsequent permission given for its sale in favour of RRCHS on 30^th October 1999 was “totally illegal”.

“We have no hesitation in holding that the then Minister for Revenue, Government of Maharashtra, and the then Divisional Commissioner, Pune, have acted totally in breach of public trust to illegally cause gain to private individuals at the cost of sacrificing precious Forest Land”, the Bench noted.

It also quashed Environmental Clearance granted by the MoEF on 3^rd July 2007 to RRCHS declaring it “illegal”. “Since the State of Maharashtra has recalled the communication dated 4^th August 1998 approving the allotment of the subject land to the ‘Chavan Family’, we uphold the same,” the Bench said.