New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday struck a balance between protection of environment and right to livelihood as it declared 86,400 hectares of “Zudpi Jungle” lands in eastern Vidarbha region of Maharashtra as forests but protected the structures existing on it till December 1996.
The top court noted that “Zudpi” was a Marathi word, literally translating to bushes or shrubs, and “Zudpi” lands meant an inferior type of unoccupied lands with bushy growth.
These lands consist of low Murmadi soil (arid soil with gravel and soft stones) where tree growth was not possible and hence these were dominated by shrubs and other dry vegetation. These are, however, extremely ecologically important areas that act as wildlife corridors, according to experts.
A bench of chief justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and justice Augustine George Masih in its order said: “It is directed that the Zudpi Jungle lands shall be considered as forest lands in line with the order of this court dated December 12, 1996 in the present proceedings.”
The bench directed the Maharashtra government to submit a consolidated proposal for each district. The land in question was part of six districts of Eastern Vidarbha Region — Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.
The Maharashtra government had in 2019 approached the top court seeking clarification whether its decision in the TN Godavarman case on December 12, 1996 — the verdict defined the term forest — would apply to Zudpi jungle or forest land, which are grazing land.
Noting that on the land in question, there stood government buildings, residential quarters, schools, graveyards, educational and public institutions, the bench said, “In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case, we direct that as an exception, and without the same being treated as a precedent whatsoever for any matter, the Zudpi Jungle lands allotted by the competent authority up to December 12, 1996 and for which land classification has not been changed, the state of Maharashtra shall seek approval under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for their deletion from the list of Forest Areas.”
The court directed the Centre to approve the proposal without imposing any condition for compensatory afforestation or levy of net present value (NPV) but directed the state to ensure that the land used is not changed in the future under any circumstances.
“We clarify that all activities for which lands have been allotted by the competent authority will be deemed to be site-specific,” the top court added.
The top court’s 1996 decision held that forest land as defined in Section 2 of the FC Act would include not only forests as understood in the dictionary sense but any area recorded as forest in the government records.
The court in its Thursday’s order reiterated its recent decision of May 15 directing chief secretaries/administrators of all states and UTs to constitute Special Investigation Teams for examining to whether any forest land in possession of Revenue Department has been allotted to any private individuals/institutions for non-forestry purposes and directed states to either restore the land or recover cost of the land in the event such restoration is not possible.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis hailed the verdict as a major relief for Vidarbha region which, he said, has been lagging in terms of development because of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
“I would say it is a landmark and historical judgment because the Supreme Court has maintained a balance between the development and environment,” Fadnavis told reporters.
“Most importantly, our demand for exempting slums that are settled on zudpi land for giving them ownership rights has also been approved by the SC. This will allow the state to give ownership rights to the people residing in those slums,” he said, adding the top court has approved all recommendations of the state government.
Experts pointed out that Zudpi jungles have been considered forest since the 1980’s. “In 1987, the Maharashtra government asked the environment ministry to exempt the Zudpi Jungles from the purview of the Forest Conservation Act 1980. This meant that Maharashtra was treating Zudpi Jungles as forests,” Debi Goenka, executive trustee of Conservation Action Trust, said.
“One of the important issues that was raised before the top court was the fact that the CEC report was completely silent on the impact of the proposed denotification of Zudpi Jungles on wildlife and wildlife corridors. It must be kept in mind that even small patches of forests are important for wildlife especially if they are located within wildlife corridors. This aspect has been completely ignored,” he added.