{"id":280871,"date":"2023-01-03T13:00:25","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T07:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=280871"},"modified":"2023-01-03T11:35:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T06:05:15","slug":"land-covered-under-section-4-punjab-land-preservation-act-is-forest-land-under-forest-conservation-act-supreme-court-legal-news-legal-updates-legal-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/01\/03\/land-covered-under-section-4-punjab-land-preservation-act-is-forest-land-under-forest-conservation-act-supreme-court-legal-news-legal-updates-legal-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Explained | Is land covered under Section 4 of Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 a \u2018forest land\u2019 under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Supreme Court:<\/b> While answering a question as to whether land covered under a special order issued by the Government of Haryana under Section 4<\/a> of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900<\/a> (PLPA) is a ‘forest land’ within the meaning of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980<\/a> (the 1980 Forest Act), the 3-judges Bench of A.M. Khanwilkar, Abhay S. Oka<\/b>*, and C.T. Ravikumar, JJ., held that such lands have all the trappings of forest lands within the meaning of Section 2 of the 1980 Forest Act. The Court stated,<\/p>\n

“When the State Government is satisfied that deforestation of a forest area forming part of a larger area notified under Section 3 is likely to lead to erosion of soil, the power under Section 4 can be exercised.”<\/b><\/p>\n

Background<\/b><\/p>\n

The genesis of the case can be traced back to the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) restraining the carrying on of any non-forest activities on the lands of Anangpur village of Ballabhgarh, Faridabad in Haryana. The NGT proceeded on the footing that the lands covered by the order dated 18-08-1992 issued under Section 4<\/a> of PLPA<\/a> were forest lands within the meaning of the 1980 Forest Act. The appellants are running marriage halls on the land subject matter.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the holders of the lands (petitioners) in Villages Anangpur, Ankhir, and Mewla Maharajpur in Ballabhgarh submitted that the lands held by them are the subject matter of the three separate orders dated 18-08-1992 issued under Section 4<\/a> of PLPA<\/a>. The petitioners contended that the Faridabad Municipal Corporation acting in collusion and connivance with the owners of the hotels and farmhouses had illegally demolished their structures in the guise of implementing the orders passed by the Supreme Court in Municipal Corporation Faridabad<\/i> v. Khori Gaon Residents Welfare Association<\/i>, Special Leave to Appeal Nos. 7220-7221 of 2017 by picking and choosing some structures while not disturbing the hotels and farmhouses.<\/p>\n

The gravamen of the Case<\/b><\/p>\n