After stinging criticism from a Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae that Tamil Nadu had failed to protect vast tracts of pristine forest since 1969, the State government has woken up. It is now set to take over the plantations by forming a committee to complete the pending settlement work of Gudalur Janmam lands. This is seen as a major step towards protecting the environment and ensuring the rule of law.
In his note to the Supreme Court, A.D.N. Rao, the amicus curiae, recommended that the State be directed to immediately take possession of all plantation land whose leases has expired; any further delay would lead to the destruction of the forest.
Going into the history of the case, he pointed out that the State had the opportunity to complete the survey and demarcation of (over 52,000 acres of unsettled) Janmam lands and declare them as reserve forests soon after the Janmam Act was enacted in 1969.
He said the State government had ignored a Supreme Court’s order in 1996 and through its inaction tacitly supported large-scale encroachment. Then in December 2003, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommended that after survey and demarcation, Janmam lands be notified as reserve forest land under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882, within three months.
“But notification as reserve forest and handing over possession to the forest department has still not been completed, which shows the total indifference on the part of the State government,” the amicus curiae said, in a report sent to the Supreme Court on January 5, 2018. The [plantation] lessees were not only occupying and using valuable government-owned forest and non-forest land without paying the State, but also destroying vast tracts of pristine forest.
Compensation
In view of the unprecedented scale of destruction of some of India’s finest forests, which has continued in spite of specific orders of the Supreme Court, he recommended that violators should compensate the loss by paying exemplary compensation, he said.
He recommended the constitution of a high-power committee to oversee the implementation of the Janmam Act and ensure that the State takes measures to protect valuable forests as the existing set-up has failed to deal with powerful vested interests. The committee should submit quarterly reports to the Supreme Court.
Terms of Reference
One of the terms of reference of the committee formed on March 20, would be to watch the implementation of all orders of the Supreme Court and the CEC that are pending implementation.
The committee, led by Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru, IAS, and comprising Chief Conservator of Forests Deepak Srivastava and retired DRO K. Srinivasan, would watch the progress relating to taking possession of plantation land vested with the government under the 1969 Act.
The committee would verify violations by the nine major estates, including the Manjushree Plantation, to the ordere of 15,430 acres by clearing evergreen forest for the expansion of plantations, as mentioned in the amicus curiae’s report. It would arrange to take legal action against the estates concerned. It would verify violations by plantations and arrange deterrent action, including imposition of compensation based on net present value along with interest. It would submit progress reports to the Chief Secretary every month and complete the task within six months, according to the G.O issued by Md. Nasimuddin, Principal Secretary, Environment and Forests.
