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Synopsis

A Public Interest Litigation plea has been filed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking direction for the clearance of 400+ hectares of encroachment on the Gwalior Protected Forest land. 

The petition has been filed by Advocate Yash Jain seeking clearance of the Protected Forest compartment no. 1 and 2 areas of the Susera beat of Gwalior forest division, and the restoration of the entire ecology of the Susera beat.

As per the answers received by way of an RTI filed by Jain, the Forest Department of the Gwalior Division informed that the total area in the Protected Forest (PF) Compartments amounts to 590.477 hectares of which 104.556 hectares of Protected Forest area has been encroached by the encroachers.

However, as per Jain's plea, after he compared the maps of the PF Compartments area of the years 2003 and 2022, it was very clearly visible that the green Forest area has been occupied by the residencies and there was a  continuous increase in the volume of agricultural land and Pakka houses have been evolved, and replaced the area of the Protected Forest.

Jain referred to the verse mentioned in the Matsya Puran:

“Dashkoop Samavaethi Dashvapi Samshadab
Dasbed Samahputra dash putra Samo Drama” 

This means: ‘One pond is equal to ten wells, and one son is equal to ten ponds, and one tree is equal to ten sons’. In the later years, Manusmriti also declares that cutting off trees is an offence, Jain stated in his plea.

The plea mentioned that after a thorough assessment of the Map through Google Earth from 2003 to 2022, Jain found that the majority of the Forest land area has been encroached on by the encroachers in a short tenure of 19 years.

It has also been alleged that these encroachers are being supplied with water and electricity by the authorities as well. "Consequently, these resources are being regularly exploited by these encroachers. Moreover, the information officer has provided no information on the steps taken to eradicate this comfort position from the encroachers," the plea read. 

Case Title: Yash Jain Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.