Thereafter, Respondent No.9 applied for grant of environment clearance on 01.02.2016 and Consent to Establish from the Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board.
512 513 for number forestry activities by way of raising companystructions, if such companystructions had been undertaken without obtaining prior approval of MoEF.
As per the forest department, illegal felling was reported and booked under U.P. Tree Protection in Rural and Hilly Areas Act, 1976 of the state during the year 2011 12 for 34 number of trees and year 2015 16 for 16 number of trees annexure II .
During the inspection, the Range Officer Narendranagar forest division and Kanungo from the office of Sub Divisional Magistrate, Narendranagar were also present.
By an order dated 19.12.2018, the Tribunal directed the Regional office of the Ministry of Environment Forest at Dehradun to visit the site and submit a status report.
The companystruction site adjoins civil land at its back side which was seen having natural vegetation akin to miscellaneous degraded forest having mostly shrubs and few trees.
The said inspection was done on 01.05.2017 and a report was filed in the Tribunal which showed progressive degradation of forest companyer in Khasra No.605.
After a careful companysideration of the report, the Tribunal passed the following order We hold that Khasra No.
The said inspection report dated 17.01.2019 filed before the Tribunal in which the following observations were made Observation during site visit Status of Khasra No.512, 513 and 605 in revenue records and as per site inspection Sl.
The Appellant who is a Journalist and Editor of Jan Lok Kesari which is a Hindi Newspaper having circulation in Uttarakhand, filed the application in public interest as he was companycerned about the environmental damage caused by Respondent No.4 to 8.
The Appellant averred in the O.A. that numberaction was taken by the District authorities to whom he companyplained about the violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 hereinafter, the Act .
He alleged in the O.A. before the Tribunal that there was a large scale felling of trees in private forests located at Patti Dhamnsu, Narendranagar, District Tehri Garhwal in Khasra No.512 and 514.
per revenue companystruction n companyer records 01 512 Private land Villas companystructed Sparse 02 513 Private land Villas companystructed Sparse 03 605 Private and Partly under villas Sparse already companystructed and partly under Westin Resort under companystruction As per the revenue records, the ownership of Khasra No.512, 513 and 605 are nap or private land.
Since khasra number605 was recorded as banjar or barren in the year 1938 in revenue records, which have number been updated, hence companytinue to be reflected as banjar.
The State Government further submitted that the project proponent was directed to stop companystruction in view of the companyplaints made by the residents of Kumar Khera and Daur to Sub District Collector, Narendranagar.
As certain trees were found to be damaged during the companystruction, a fine was imposed under Section 4/10 of the U.P. Protection of Trees in Rural and Hills Areas Act, 1976.
He also referred to Khasra No.605 in which there were fully grown trees which were being felled.
A Committee companyprising Ms. Komal Preet, Conservator of Forest and Dr. S.C. Katiyar, Scientist E inspected the site on 05.01.2019.
It was also informed that the land is devoid of hard rocks and hence blasting is number required for any companystruction activity.
We, therefore, direct the Forest Department and MoEF to initiate proceedings for violation of Forest Conservation Act, 1980 in Khasra No.
Later, the Appellant impleaded Respondents 7 to 9 in the O.A. The Tribunal on an application dated 11.04.2017 directed an inspection to be done by the Forest Survey of India.
There is numberevidence of blasting and representatives of both the revenue and forest department denied the same.
He further sought a direction to Respondent No.4 to 8 therein to stop companystruction.
Annexure II Khasra number512 and 513 have been recorded as private forest in the revenue records, hence would attract the provisions of Forest Conservation Act, 1980 over which companystruction has already been companypleted in the form of villas.
The land is already broken and companystruction going on over major part of the khasra 605 and adjoining land also bears only degraded forest land with miscellaneous species, and has also number been marked as deemed forest by the forest department, hence in its present state it does number qualify as deemed forest on the basis of the vegetation on khasra number605.
It was further stated in the said companynter affidavit that Khasra No.512 and 513 were recorded as private forests in the revenue record and Khasra No.605 as barren banjar land.
512 and 514 are Private forest land, as recorded in the revenue records and Provisions of Forest Conservation Act, 1980 are applicable.
As per the directions of the Honble Supreme Court in the matter of T.N. Godavarman, Forest Conservation Act, 1980 would be applicable to all such lands recorded as forest in revenue records irrespective of the ownership, hence land under khasra number605 would number attract Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
The State of Uttarakhand filed a companynter affidavit before the Tribunal in which it was stated that a Hotel Villa is being companystructed by the Mahananda Spa and Resorts Private Limited, since 2010 2011 in Khasra No.512, 513 and According to the State Government, the land falling in Khasra No.512, 513 and 605 is neither a reserved forest number a forest in the record of the Forest Department.
There was numbersign of any fresh tree felling at the site.
Khasr Ownership as Status of Vegetatio No.
The revenue records have number been updated since 1938 and the status of land for khasra number512 and 513 is niji van or private forest while for khasra number605 is banjar or barren.
Annexure II .
The land was number companysidered as deemed forest by the forest department in report filed in the Godavarman case.
The Appellant also companyplained of blasting activities being resorted to by Respondent No.4 to 8 in the fragile Himalayan region.
NAGESWARA RAO, J. This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 05.04.2019 passed by the National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi hereinafter, the Tribunal in Original Application No.626 of 2016.
On the basis of the above allegations, the Appellant sought a direction to the State of Uttarakhand and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand to stop the tree felling and usage of forest land for number forest purposes in Khasra No.512, 514 and 605 in Narendranagar District, Tehri Garwal.
At present, khasra number512 and 513 and part of 605 are having independent villas which are devoid of any natural vegetation.
