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Survey of reserve forest land stalled in Pune amid elections, leopard scare
Officials say the zilla parishad and municipal council elections, along with back-to-back leopard sightings across the city, have disrupted field operations.
Pune: The Supreme Court-mandated survey to identify reserve forest land currently with the revenue department has hit an unexpected pause in Pune. Following the landmark Riche Rich Society judgment, the Court had directed all states, including Maharashtra, to complete the ground assessment, and the state has set the deadline for the same as November 15 and initiated steps to reclaim eligible forest land.
However, officials say the zilla parishad and municipal council elections, along with back-to-back leopard sightings across the city, have disrupted field operations.
Senior officers now admit the process is unlikely to be finished before next month, causing further delay in submitting the mandatory action-taken report to the Supreme Court.
Mahadev Mohite, deputy conservator of forests, Pune, said that 60–70% of the survey has been completed so far. “Our manpower has been diverted for leopard tracking and rescue operations, which has slowed down the survey. It may take another month or two to complete the remaining survey work. After that, we will have to carry out the handover process. But with the municipal corporation elections expected soon, there is a possibility of further delay. Still, we are making every effort to finish the work within the stipulated deadlines,” he said.
“We will be reclaiming areas that legally fall under the ‘forest’ category. In cases where the land has permanent settlements or is no longer suitable for restoration, we will apply for compensation,” said Mohite.
He added that a separate list will be prepared for lands with complicated ownership histories, where possession has changed hands multiple times over the years. “Such cases will require independent proceedings, which will ultimately be decided by the court. But for that, completing the ground survey is essential.”
On May 15, the Supreme Court had ordered the restoration of 29 acres and 15 gunthas (one guntha is equal to 1,089 square feet) of reserved forest land in Kondhwa Budruk, illegally allotted and diverted for construction purposes. The apex court declared the allotment and all subsequent transactions and developments on the land as void, citing a clear violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The verdict came in response to a petition filed in 2007 by Nagrik Chetna Manch, a citizens’ group. The petition challenged the 1998 allotment of the forest land to members of the Chavan family, which was later sold to Richie Rich Cooperative Housing Society (RRCHS) for a multi-storey residential project.
According to the data, in Maharashtra alone, nearly 1.5 lakh hectares of forest land are with the revenue department. In Pune district, it’s around 14,000 hectares.
As part of the process, the forest department, along with the revenue department, launched a joint survey in October to assess the ground reality of reserve forest lands.
