National Green Tribunal: In a suo motu application for examining the issue of large-scale encroachment on the forest land across the country, the three-member bench comprising of Prakash Shrivastava, J., (Chairperson), Sudhir Agarwal, J., and Dr. A. Senthil Vel (Expert Member), directed the States/ UTs to file their reply and provide details of the encroachment.
A news piece titled “forest land five times Delhi’s geographical area under encroachment govt. data shows” was published in Deccan Herald on 05-01-2024.
The Tribunal in the previous hearing noted that in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur, forest area under encroachment was about 56 percent. Accordingly, all the States concerned were impleaded along with the Secretary, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi as respondents and notices were issued.
The Tribunal directed the States/Union Territories to disclose the following information in their reply in a tabulated form:
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Name of the District
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Total Forest cover
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Details of encroachment of a. Protected Forest; b. Reserved Forest; c. Deemed Forest; d. Sanctuaries and protected areas; e. any other type of forest
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Total encroachment upto March 2024 District wise
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Action taken for removal of encroachment year wise in the Districts
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Percentage loss of forest as of March 2024- District wise
The Court also directed the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India to compile the information so received from all the States/Union Territories.
The matter was further listed for hearing on 31-07-2024.
[News Item titled “Forest land five times Delhi’s geographical area under encroachment govt. data shows” appearing in Deccan Herald dated 05-01-2024, Original Application No. 129/2024, Order Dated: 19-04-2024]
It is indeed a great job undertaken suo motu by the NGT, directing the States and Union Territories to provide details of encroachment in their respective states. The reasons best known to them, the States/UTs have failed to initiative actions against the violators. At times, the unscrupulous persons behind these encroachments are sheltered by the political and non-political executives. After its clearance, It would prove to be a great achievement towards protection and conservation of environment in the country.
Illegal activities can’t survive without action, though this is KALIYUGA. At the same time, NGT should hold the integrity to take this matter upto logical and legal conclusion. Then people start believing the Justice delivery syatem.