NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Monday slammed Uttarakhand govt for being a silent spectator for two decades to rampant encroachment of forest land in Rishikesh, which was allotted in 1950 to Gandhian Mira Behn by the then UP govt, and said it smacked of nexus between the executive and squatters. The court also sought details of such illegal constructions. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the facts of this case, prima facie, show how private individuals systematically grabbed thousands of acres of forest land while state govt remained in slumber from 2000 till 2023. Uttarakhand’s deputy advocate general Jatinder Kumar Sethi informed court that the state had recovered around 500 acres of forest land from encroachers in 2023 and an additional 50 acres in the drive carried out in the last three days at Rishikesh. He said the state would continue the drive against encroachers.However, the bench said the way squatters enjoyed residential rights unauthorisedly over vast tracts of forest land for more than two decades indicated collusion among politicians, bureaucrats and encroachers. It asked the state to file a detailed affidavit describing the extent of encroachment, nature of constructions and the officers who were at the helm of affairs between 2000-2023 for protection of govt land in the area. Of the 2,866 acres of land notified as forest area by the state, a part was leased to Pashulok Sewa Samiti, which was an organisation associated with Pashulok Ashram established by British born Mira Behn (Madeleine Slade). The society came under liquidation and surrendered 594 acres of land to the forest dept on Oct 23, 1984. Yet certain private individuals took control of the land.The bench had said, “What seems shocking to us is that Uttarakhand and its authorities are sitting as silent spectators when the forest land was being systematically grabbed in front of their eyes.” It enlarged the scope of the petition and directed the state’s chief secretary and principal chief conservator of forest to constitute an inquiry committee to examine all issues and submit a report to the SC.”Meanwhile, all private individuals are restrained from alienating the land, encumbering it or creating any third-party rights,” the bench had ordered on Dec 22 last year.
