SC pulls up Uttarakhand over encroachment in Rishikesh forest

THe sublime margaret court on mon deprecated the Uttarakhand authorities for allowing large-scale encroachment of timber land in Rishikesh, calling it “shocking” that the state had failed to reclaim thousands of acres despite the withdrawal of an earlier land allotment at least four decades ago.A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi initiated suo motu proceedings after noting that over 2,800 acres of forest land, which reverted to the forest department in 1984, continued to remain under occupation of private parties.“What is shocking is that the Uttarakhand government is a silent spectator when thousands of acres of forest land is sought to be encroached,” said the bench, asking: “What has the state been doing all these years? We are going to take a strict view.”Directing immediate administrative action, the court ordered the state’s chief secretary and additional chief secretary to urgently examine the matter, ascertain the status of possession of the land, and submit a detailed report to the apex court by the first week of January. The bench also directed that all vacant portions of the land be taken into possession forthwith by the forest department.“All private parties are restrained from creating any third-party rights or alienating such land occupied by them as on date,” ordered the court, while directing the forest authorities to file a compliance report within the stipulated time.However, the court ordered status quo with respect to residential units that have already come up on the land, clarifying that for the present, no coercive action will be taken against occupants of constructed residential properties.The directions were issued while hearing a petition filed by a woman who challenged eviction proceedings initiated against her for occupying a residential unit allegedly built on forest land. The case traces its origins to a November 2025 order of the Uttarakhand high court, which upheld the eviction.In its order, the high court noted that in 1950, around 2,866 acres of land in Rishikesh were leased to the Pashulok Seva Samiti for allotment to landless families. However, the allotment was withdrawn by the forest department of the erstwhile State of Uttar Pradesh on October 23, 1984, and the land stood reverted to the state through a surrender deed.Despite this, private claims continued to be asserted. The high court recorded that the petitioner had come into possession of the land only in 2001 and had “no right” to remain there, observing that the land had already reverted to the state decades earlier. It upheld orders of the sub-divisional magistrate directing eviction with police assistance, a decision affirmed by the sessions court.Taking note of this background, the Supreme Court expressed concern over the state’s failure to secure the land even after judicial findings and administrative withdrawal of the allotment, observing that the situation pointed to systemic apathy.The matter will now be monitored by the apex court, which has indicated that further directions may follow after examining the report to be submitted by the state authorities in January.