Rajasthan High Court disposes of PIL highlighting encroachment of village forest area

The Rajasthan High Court disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)  filed in pro-bono capacity that village forest area has been extensively encroached by a large number of encroachers.

Against them, proceedings under Section 91 of the Land Revenue Act have duly been drawn by Tehsildar and after hearing, orders of eviction were passed against the encroachers on 02.09.2022 and 08.09.2022.  

It is also empathetically asserted that to the best knowledge of the petitioner, the encroachers have not taken any remedy against the orders passed by the Tehsildar and therefore, those orders have attained finality. Even then, the respondent authorities particularly, the Tehsildar is not taking appropriate steps for removal of encroachments, which leads to inference that those who have occupied village forest area as encroachers are influential personalities and are not allowing the revenue authorities to remove the encroachments despite there being statutory orders of eviction.

Additional Advocate General, Rajesh Panwar appearing for the State would submit that if the orders passed by the Tehsildar in proceedings under Section 91 of the Land Revenue Act have attained finality, the orders are required to be brought to its original conclusion. He would, however, lodge a caveat that in case, those orders have been challenged in appeal or in any other proceedings and any interim order has been passed, then in that case, the respondent authorities may not proceed further.   

Be that as it may, on the face of the empathetic assertion made by learned counsel for the petitioner in this PIL on affidavit that the orders passed by the Tehsildar under the provision of Section 91 of the Land Revenue Act on 02.09.2022 and 08.09.2022 have attained finality and till date, encroachments have not been removed, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and  Justice Munnuri Laxman  directed  the District Collector, Bikaner to look into the matter. He shall collect necessary information from Tehsildar, Shri Kolayat (Sub Tehsil Hadan) and if it is found that against the eviction orders, no order of stay of any higher authority is submitted in the office of Tehsildar, the Collector shall issue directions for instant removal of the encroachments without further loss of time. 

If the encroachments  are not removed within a period of three months, the petitioner would be at liberty to revive the petition, the Bench ordered.