Head of famous Rishikesh ashram, Chidanand Saraswati booked for encroachment of forest land

A representative of the spiritual guru said the Ashram was initially not aware that the land was classified as forest land.

Uttarakhand forest department has filed a case against Swami Chidanand Saraswati, president and spiritual head of famous Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, for alleged encroachment and construction in 2.5 acres of forest land within Dehradun forest division near Rajaji National Park, said forest officials.

Swami Chidanand Saraswati has been booked as the first respondent in a case of encroachment and construction over forest land. (HT Photo/File)

The development follows directions by the Uttarakhand High Court on July 6 and July 15 while hearing a PIL filed by one Pauri Garhwal based Archana Shukla, alleging encroachment of forest land near Rajaji National Park by Swami Chidanand Saraswati.

Jai Raj, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Uttarakhand, said a case against Muni Chidanand Saraswati, who heads the famous Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, has been filed for alleged encroachment and construction over 2.5 acres (.999 hectare) of forest land within Dehradun forest division. He said the case has been filed under section 26 of the Indian Forest Act 1927.

Section 26 in the Indian Forest Act, 1927 deals with acts prohibited in forests including setting fire to a reserved forest, felling of trees, stone quarrying, clearing or breaking up any forest land for cultivation or any other purpose, erecting any building or construction and so on.

A senior forest department official, privy to the developments, said on the condition of anonymity that after the high court had issued directions in December last year, they had taken possession of the 2.5 acre encroached land by Swami Chidanand Saraswati, in March. Earlier this month on July 6 and later on July 15, HC asked what subsequent action the forest department had taken in the matter.

“We booked Swami Chidanand Saraswati, under section 26 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (H2 case) and appointed an inquiry officer who will give his report on the matter. Range officer Rishikesh has been appointed as the inquiry officer. Based on his inquiry report, further action like determining the time period for which the forest land had been under encroachment, the penalty that needs to be imposed and the amount of compensation will be decided,” the official mentioned above said.

According to the affidavit filed by the forest department, the inquiry officer will investigate for how long Swami Chidanand Saraswati was in unauthorised possession of the said forest land and the period of illegal occupation will be taken into account for calculation of compensation and subsequent imposition of penalty by DFO Dehradun.

Vinay Kumar, who represents Swami Chidanand Saraswati, said the land had been donated by the villagers and part of it was bought from some people before 2005.

“The land was around one hectare. We set up a Gurukul there and had plans to set up a school. But when we came to know that it was forest land, we immediately applied online for a lease of the land, which is still pending. When the case was filed in HC, we stopped the Gurukul in February and handed over the land to the forest department,” he said.