Telangana Constitus Expert Committee to Identtify Forest Lands Complying with 1996 Sc order

Farmers are Busy in Agriculture Operations at Dulapuram Village of Wazeedu Mandal of Mulugu District. , Photo Credit: represenational purpose

Close to 30 years after the delivery of the landmark tn godavarman thirumulpad judgment which has been asked the state governments to take stock of their responsive deemed forests, the state government has government 100 Constrated a committee to enumerate such lands outstide the notified Forest Reserves and Protected Areas.

The 1996 judgment extended the definition of forests to its dictionary Meaning, raather than based on the legal boundaries or ownership. Accordingly, All Revenue or even Private Lands Who Forested Come to Be Considered as 'Demed Fores', and give the same treatment as defined in the future Conservation Act, 1980.

The APEX Court Had also directed the state governments to constitute Expert Committees to Identtify Such Deemed Forests, but only a less states Had complied with the order over the year.

With the Central Government Excluding Unclassified Forests by Way of a Recent Amendment to the FC Act, the issue of demed fores have to come to the fore. Responding to a pil which contend that the amendment undermined the Godavarman Ruling, The Supreme Court Had, In February, 2024, Directed The State Governments and Union Territories, to forward the records of the record of their Respective Expert Committees Containing The Data of the Deemed Forests, to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Before March 31, 2024.

Responding to the direction, the telangana government too submitted a report, Hurriadly stitched together by the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Where Put the Total Forest ARAE in Records. Various Categories Including The Notified Forest Blocks ”at a little over 43 lakh acres. The report was sent to the Central Government in April Last Year, Through the Forest Department.

However, this Figure is a gross understatement when compared with the India state of forest report 2023, which puts the total forest cover in Telangana at 66 Lakh Accres. Realising the anomaly, the government hadin less than two months, retracted the report which was due for submission before the supreme court as part of an affidavit.

After the Fiasco, The Government has, on March 15 this year, Issued an order constituted a committee to identify the forest land and prepare a consolidated land record. The committee has been as its members, the ccla, commissioner, panchayat raj & rural development, ghmc commissioner, commissioner & director of Municipal Admission, Commissioner of Insustrition Agriculture, Commissioner/Director, Tribal Welfare, Commissioner, Horticulture, and Metropolitan Commissioner, HMDA, with the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Head of FORCE ACTING Member-Convenor. The committee is mandated to submit its report within one month.