National Green Tribunal
Aarti Joshi vs State Of Uttarakhand on 16 May, 2024
Item No. 1A Court No. 1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
Original Application No. 501/2023
(IA No. 663/2023)
Aarti Joshi Applicant
Versus
State of Uttarakhand & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of completion of hearing and reserving of order: 23.04.2024
Date of Pronouncement of order: 16.05.2024
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, CHAIRPERSON
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR AGARWAL, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER
Applicant: Mr. Dushyant Pratap Singh, Mr. Shashank Singh & Mr. Varyam Pandey,
Advs. for Applicant
Respondent: Mr. Mukesh Verma, Adv. for UKPCB
Ms. Anjali Rajput, Adv. for the State of Uttarakhand
Mr. Ashutosh Kumar Sharma & Ms. Ayushi Mittal, Advs. for R - 4 to 6
ORDER
1. In this original application, allegation of the Applicant is in respect of destruction of trees by Respondent No. 4, Hajinder Pal Singh.
2. Plea of the Applicant is that on 24.04.2019, Divisional Forest Officer, Musoorie Forest Division had granted permission to Respondent No. 4 for clearing Lantana bushes on his private land in the area of Dom village. The plea of the Applicant is that 759 trees of different species were existing on the land and in the guise of clearing Lantana bushes, Respondent No. 4 was cutting Khair trees around water source of the area and was uprooting trees by JCB, earth mover machines. It is further alleged that boundary of the land of Respondent No. 4 is adjoining with area of village Bhandargaon which is a reserved forest. Further, plea of the Applicant is that boundaries of land of Respondent No. 4 and land of adjoining SalanGaon Gram Panchayat, Bhagwantpuris catagorised as jungle jhadi which has been 1 encroached upon and trees are being cut in the guise of permission to clear Lantana bushes. On 27.04.2022, DFO, Musoorrie had written to the Revenue Authorities for a joint inspection for demarcation of boundaries of reserved forest. The stand of the Applicant is that these 759 trees have been destroyed by Respondent No. 4.
3. Tribunal by order dated 18.08.2023 had issued notice to the respondents and had also formed a joint committee with a direction to the committee to visit the place and submit a factual action taken report.
4. The joint committee has fled the report dated 04.11.2023 disclosing that during the joint inspection it was found that Khasra No.325, 3343, 368 to 378 total area 40.10 acre is registered in the name of Respondent No. 4, Hajinder Pal Singh. It is further stated that Khasra No.56 area 2.1160 hectare which is divided in three parts is jungle jhadi registered in the name of PWD roads. Report further states that for Khasra No.378 area 6.5960 hectare, which is an uneven and sloppy land, permission was granted for making it plain for agricultural purpose and constructing poly house with certain conditions including the condition that no damage to the trees will be caused and that the work will be done by using JCB machines. Joint inspection of work of making the land plain and constructing poly house was done on 16.05.2023 by the joint committee and it was found that vacant land was made even and poly house was constructed in an area of 50 meters. Committee further found that trees which are existing at the site are 3 meter away from the proposed area and no felling of tree has taken place. The joint committee further found that as per revenue record Khasra No. 378 area 6.5960 hectare is not registered as jungle jhadi but it is registered as agricultural land and it is not a land of reserved forest.Joint committee further found that on the vacant land 135 trees of different species and girth/bushes are existing which are not 2 obstructing the work of making the land plain. Joint committee has given geo-coordinates of the work of making the land plain and construction of poly house and stated that no forest law has been violated. The findings of the joint Committee in this regard are as under:-
" गत भूिम, मौजा डोम गाँव म कखसरा सं या 378, रकवा 6590 के पुरतािनमाण एवं समतलीकरण के स बध म दनांक 16.05.2023 म राज व एवं वन िवभाग क संयु सिमित ारा थल िनरी ण कया गया, िजसके अनु स बंध (संल क-03)
1. मौजा डोमगाँव के खसरा सं या-378 रकबा 6.5960 है० भूिम राज व अिभलेख म ी हरजे पाल संह के नाम दज है।
2. उ भूिम म कु ल खाली थान म समतलीकरण एवं 50 मीटर पु ता िनमाण कया गया है।
3. उ भूिम पर जो वृ िव मान है व वृ तािवत काय से 3 मीटर से अिधक दूरी पर ि थत है। अतः कसी भी वृ का पातन नह कया जाना है।
4. मौजा डोमगाँव के खसरा सं या 378 रकबा 6.5960 है० भूिम राज व अिभलेख म जंगल झाड़ी म दज नह है तथा कृ िष भूिम म दज है। उ भूिम आरि त वन का भाग नह है, खाली भूिम पर 135 वृ िविभ जाित एवं ास वग के अ वि थत ह. जो समतलीकरण काय म बाधक नह ह।
5. समतलीकरण एवं पु ता िनमाण क जी०पी०एस० सिहत िन कार से है-
मसं या अ ांश देशा तर
1. E-30°-24°-45.86° E-78°-04°-38.71°
E-78°-04°-40.11°
2. E-30°-24°-44.72°
E-78°-04°-39.3°
3. E-30°-24°43.59°
E-78°-04°-37.99°
4. E-30°-24°-43.14°
E-78°-04°-38.58°
5. E-30°-24°-42.58°
E-78°-04°-38.07°
6. E-30°-24°-40.92°
E-78°-04°-37.3°
7. E-30°-24°-39.14°
E-78°-04°-32.57°
8. E-30°-24°-41.39°
E-78°-04°-33.81°
9. E-30°-24°-42.45°
E-78°-04°-33.42°
10. E-30°-24°-43.19°
E-78°-04°-35.03°
11. E-30°-24°-44.69°
E-78°-04°-37.04°
12. E-30°-24°-44.23°
6. मौजा डोमगाँव यारकु ली भ ा म िनिज भूिम म कसी भी गैर वािनक काय करने पर वन संर ण आिधिनयम 1980, के ािवधान लागू नह ह गे और न ही कसी वन कानून का उ लंघन होगा।3
दनांक 19.09.2023 को कये गये सिमित के िनरी ण म पाया गया कः-
1. खसरा सं या-378 रकबा 6.590 है० भूिम को समतलीकरण कर 50 मीटर के लगभग पु ता/दीवास का िनमाण कया गया है। (फोटा ा स संल , संल क-
04)
2. समतलीकरण क गयी भूिम म वृ के पातन दृि गत नह ए तथा समतलीकरण के िलए दशाय गयी भूिम पर कोई वृ नह है।
3. माननीय उ यायालय, नैनीताल म जनिहत यािचका सं या 126/2023 आरती जोशी बनाम् उ राखंड रा य एवं अ य िवचाराधीन है, िजसक अगली सुनवाई दनांक 08.04.2024 को िनयत है। (संल क-05)"
5. A separate report by District Magistrate, Dehradun has been filed indicating the same factual position which is indicating in the report of the joint committee. Though, applicant has filed response to the report of the joint committee as also report of the District Magistrate, Dehradun but he has not enclosed any cogent material on the basis of which conclusion drawn by the joint committee can be doubted. Along with response, he has enclosed photocopy of some old khasra of one year but that is not enough to reject the finding of the joint committee which has been arrived at after inspection of the revenue record.
6. Thus, we find that applicant has not been able to substantiate his plea of illegal cutting of trees by Respondent No.4.
7. Hence, OA is dismissed.
8. Pending IA (663/2023) is disposed of accordingly.
Prakash Shrivastava, CP Sudhir Agarwal, JM Dr. A. Senthil Vel, EM May 16th, 2024 Original Application No. 501/2023 (IA No. 663/2023) JG.
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