THE Supreme Court has finally settled a 45-year-long issue of Zudpi jungles (shrub forest) in Maharashtra by notifying those to be considered as “forest lands” thus bringing curtains on a complex problem that was hindering many development projects, especially in six districts of eastern Vidarbha. The top court’s verdict now brings total clarity on the usage of over 86,000 hectares of land tracts which remained in legal tangle for decades despite expert panels appointed by the Maharashtra Government suggesting a strategy to convince the Centre to treat Zudpi lands as revenue lands.

 

By drawing a clear line on the usage of the lands, the apex court has put the ball in the State Government’s court on conversion of lands already used for various non-forest purposes and at the same time also passed the onus on the Forest Department to take control of all such remaining lands and free it from encroachment, if any. While there are concerns over ongoing and recently-announced irrigation and infrastructure projects on such lands after the top court made an exception in case of the Zudpi jungle lands allotted by competent authorities up to December 12, 1996, the general sentiment around the verdict is about maintaining a fine balance between development and environment. The Maharashtra Government has also welcomed the verdict terming it as historic but it has an uphill task to complete in the next three months in convincing the Central Government on the need of such lands for development purposes while seeking its conversion.

 

It is still a tight-rope walk for the Government to comply with the conditions laid down by the Supreme Court. The landmark verdict is bound to bring up many such complications on the operational use of irrigation projects in Vidarbha. Five big projects are set to be affected by the ruling as they would need approval from the Forest Department after it gets control of Zudpi jungles from the State. However, it has also provided a golden conversion opportunity for the Forest Department which it must avail with the idea of balanced development. The Forest Department has its task cut out over removal of encroachments on Zudpi lands once it gets the jungle tracts under its authority. Interestingly, many of such land parcels are in big cities and towns of all the six districts including Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli. Treating them as forest lands and monitoring their conservation is set to present a peculiar challenge for the Forest Department.

 

For, many such Zudpi lands had traditionally been grazing lands known as ‘Gairan, Gur Chaaran, E-class lands’ as per Maharashtra Land Revenue Code. Observations of expert committees had clearly mentioned that Zudpi lands have a very poor potential of vegetative growth because soil strata does not support root systems of trees. Developing such lands as a forest ecosystem now entails critical thinking, deeper research, and a totally unique approach from the Forest Department. While the verdict by the bench of Chief Justice of India Mr. Justice Bhushan Gavai and Mr. Justice Augustine Masih must be welcomed for its vast importance in increasing green cover in Maharashtra, it is also imperative for the State, Centre and the Forest Department to keep in mind the importance of development projects in maintaining social ecology.