Supreme Court Cracks Down on Illegal Allotment of Forest Land

The Supreme Court issued a directive instructing all states and union territories to set up special investigation teams. These teams are tasked with examining whether reserved forest lands under the revenue department's control were wrongfully allocated to private parties for uses beyond forestry.

The court recognized the significant issue of forest land remaining in the revenue department's possession and urged its transfer to the forest department. A Central Empowered Committee report highlighted evidence of inappropriate allocations to private entities for non-forestry purposes.

The bench condemned a Pune case where forest land was unlawfully allocated to a 'Chavan family' in 1998. This decision by the local officials was seen as a breach of public trust, prioritizing private gain over environmental protection. The court nullified transactions supporting non-forest activities without central approval.

(With inputs from agencies.)