Forest department issues notices to 4 officials for violating Forest Act

Officials had moved the SC seeking denotification of forest land occupied by the HMT, without approval of then forest min

The state forest department on Monday issued show-cause notices to retired IAS officer Sandeep Dave, retired IFS officer Vijayakumar Gogi, and current officials Smita Bijoor (APCCF) and R Gokul (CCF, Technical Cell) over alleged violations of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 by declaring a forest land occupied by the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) as “non-forest”.

On September 24, forest minister Ishwara B Khandre directed officials to serve notices, demanding explanations from those involved. (File photo)

Principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) BK Dikshit emphasised the department’s commitment to uphold conservation laws, referring to the Supreme Court’s long-standing directive that “once a forest, always a forest” unless duly denotified.

Dikshit told HT, “Under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, permission for non-forest use must be obtained by paying the Net Present Value (NPV) and providing compensatory land. Even then, the land is leased and should revert to the forest department at the end of the lease term.”

On September 24, forest minister Ishwara B Khandre directed officials to serve notices, demanding explanations from those involved.

The four officials while in office had sought Supreme Court’s approval for the denotification of forest land occupied by HMT. They argued that this land, part of the Peenya Plantation in Survey Nos. 1 and 2, no longer retained its forest status. SC had agreed to the denotification. However, this assessment, declaring the land as “non-forest”, was made without approval from then forest minister or cabinet.

In a bid to reclaim the “forest lands”, the notice was formally issued to retired additional chief secretary of the forest department Sandeep Dave, retired principal secretary Vijayakumar Gogi, and current officers Smita Bijoor and R Gokul. The officials were asked to justify the rationale behind their decision to propose the denotification.

The alleged violations extend further as HMT reportedly sold portions of the forest land under its control to various government bodies, private entities, and individuals — a clear contravention of the Forest Conservation Act, Environmental Protection Act, and state revenue regulations. “Such sales breach environmental and conservation norms set by both the central and state governments. We await responses from the officials involved and will take appropriate action based on their explanations,” Dikshit added.