New Delhi, February 10 Observing that forests constitute one of the most vital natural resources of the nation, the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Assam government to constitute a committee of forest and revenue officials to look into unauthorized occupants in the Doyang reserved forest and its adjoining villages in Golaghat district.
The apex court said that encroachment upon forest land has emerged as one of the gravest challenges confronting environmental governance in the country.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said the committee will issue notices to the alleged unauthorized occupants and give them an opportunity to adduce evidence to show that they have the right to occupy the land which is in their possession.
“Action to remove the encroachment shall only be taken if it is found that there is an encroachment in the reserved forest area.
“If the noticee is found to be within the revenue limits, outside the notified forest area, the details of the noticee shall be sent to the revenue department. In such cases, the revenue department shall decide the future course of action,” the bench said.
The apex court said that if an unauthorized occupation is found in a reserve forest area, a speaking order shall be passed and served on the concerned person, giving him 15 days’ notice to vacate the unauthorized occupation.
The action shall be taken to remove the unauthorized occupants only after the expiry of the notice period, it said.
The top court asked the parties to maintain status quo in respect of land in occupation till a speaking order is passed and till the expiry of the notice period of 15 days.
“Occupation of a gaon panchayat in a forest is permissible if there is sufficient proof as per the Jamabandi register maintained by the forest department or as provided under the Forest Rights Act.
“In our opinion, the course of action to be adopted by the state government while removing the encroachment from the reserved forest contains sufficient procedural safeguards. The process sought to be adopted by the state government for removal of encroachment conforms to the principles of fairness, reasonableness and due process," the bench said.
The order came on pleas filed by Abdul Khaleq and other affected families.
The top court said forests are not merely repositories of timber or land capable of alternate use, but complex ecological systems indispensable for maintaining environmental balance.
The state government had argued that the land in occupation is within the reserve forest, which they have no legal right to occupy.
According to the state government, the forest areas were notified as reserve forests in 1887 and 1888 under the forest laws then in force.
The forest department of the Assam government issued eviction notices to the petitioners on the ground that they were unauthorized occupants of reserve forest land and directed them to vacate the said lands within a period of seven days from the date of the receipt of the notices.