Supreme Court appoints Bhushan Gavai committee to probe forest rights claims in Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court on Friday constituted a special committee led by Justice Bhushan R. Gavai to examine orders passed by authorities under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) in Tamil Nadu. A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta formed the committee, with Justice Gavai serving as the chairperson. The panel also includes an official from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Tamil Nadu.

This committee will oversee the determination of claims by Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD). The committee will scrutinize orders passed by competent authorities under the FRA, and its findings will be submitted to the court in a sealed cover. The committee has been empowered to issue necessary directions to authorities for the speedy disposal of claims, and the state government is required to submit monthly progress reports to the committee.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the court severely criticised the Tamil Nadu government for its long-standing failure to initiate the legal process for identifying and judicially resolving forest dwellers' claims in the ecologically sensitive Agasthyamalai landscape. The bench observed that despite the Supreme Court vacating an interim stay by the Madras High Court in 2016, the process under the FRA was not initiated for years. The court noted that the process appears to have started only after this court took suo motu cognizance of the prevailing situation.

The court further stated that the state government seems to have woken up only after directions were given to remove encroachments from the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve and other reserved forests of the Agasthyamalai Biosphere. The bench clarified that the state government is primarily responsible for the delay in receiving, identifying, and disposing of claims under the FRA, 2006. The court noted that Gram Sabhas had not even been formed before the issue of encroachments in forest areas was noted. Consequently, the court has given the state a 'last chance' to complete this process.

The court has directed the state to complete the formation of the remaining Gram Sabhas within 30 days. Additionally, it ordered that claims be invited through the legal three-tier mechanism and the entire disposal process be completed within five months of the formation of the Gram Sabhas. The committee must complete its probe within two months after this final deadline expires.

These proceedings have been initiated in the context of large-scale encroachments in the Agasthyamalai landscape, where in a judgment dated May 29, the court ordered a time-bound process for eviction, rehabilitation, and environmental restoration. Recent proceedings arose due to contradictory claims regarding the implementation of the FRA for people residing or farming in the Megamalai area.

The state government argued that it is necessary to examine claims under the FRA before eviction. However, the court accepted the submission of Amicus Curiae and Senior Advocate K. Parameswaran that indiscriminate protection under this law cannot be granted to every person occupying or farming forest land. The court clarified that two categories of occupiers identified by the state will not be considered under this law: first, those who farm on forest land but maintain only temporary residence there, and second, those who reside outside the forest boundary but farm within the forest area.

Senior Counsel Jaydeep Gupta appeared on behalf of the state government, and Senior Advocate Sriram Panchu appeared on behalf of the state's Social Justice Department in this case.