Chandrapur: Union minister of state Hansraj Ahir said that a committee of union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) is soon going to visit Manikgarh hillocks to study the demand of de-notification of 33,486ha of forest land. His statement came in wake of his recent meeting with MoEF&CC minister Dr Harshwardan in Delhi.
Ahir claimed that chief secretary of state had declared the land to be treated as reserve forest deciding on dispute over ownership issue between revenue and forest department following the directives of high court back in year 2015. Almost all villages and agriculture land in Jiwti tehsil and part of Rajura tehsil now officially stand on the reserve forest land. "It has stranded all the development works and have deprived over 60,000 people of the benefits under various government schemes," he said. Ahir added that MoEF minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has assured him of instituting a two-member committee and sending it to Manikgarh hillocks to investigate into demand to de-notify the forest land.
State finance and forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar too had met Dr Harsh Vardhan in August over the same issue. Following the directives of the Mungantiwar, state forest department has already forwarded a proposal to MoEF&CC seeking clearance of 33,000 hectares of forest land, which is in non-forest use in Jiwti tehsil, on grounds of zudpi forest proposal. The move was initiated following the demand raised by Rajura MLA Sanjay Dhote, who claimed that construction of dozens of schools, hospitals, roads, ponds, weirs, water supply schemes are stuck in Jiwti tehsil due to lack for forest clearance.
Whose land is it anyway?
In pre-independence era, the Manikghar hillocks earlier belonged to Nizam estate. Post independence, it went under the authority of Adilabad district in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, and later to Nanded district in Maharashtra. It finally came under jurisdiction of Rajura revenue division in Chandrapur district. Over the period of time, many villages settled over hillocks on forest land. Thousands of non-tribal migrants from Maratwada, too, were allowed to settle on Manikgarh hillocks in 1970. Revenue department treated the entire land as revenue property and even handed over the 7/12 extracts.
When a case was filed in high court in 2009 over Nandori mining lease dispute, the row on the authority over the land came to fore between forest and revenue department. In 2015, high court directed the chief secretary to study the documents. Chief secretary settled the dispute between two departments by declaring entire disputed land as revenue forest, which now lies under Jiwti and Wansadi ranges.
Ahir claimed that chief secretary of state had declared the land to be treated as reserve forest deciding on dispute over ownership issue between revenue and forest department following the directives of high court back in year 2015. Almost all villages and agriculture land in Jiwti tehsil and part of Rajura tehsil now officially stand on the reserve forest land. "It has stranded all the development works and have deprived over 60,000 people of the benefits under various government schemes," he said. Ahir added that MoEF minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has assured him of instituting a two-member committee and sending it to Manikgarh hillocks to investigate into demand to de-notify the forest land.
State finance and forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar too had met Dr Harsh Vardhan in August over the same issue. Following the directives of the Mungantiwar, state forest department has already forwarded a proposal to MoEF&CC seeking clearance of 33,000 hectares of forest land, which is in non-forest use in Jiwti tehsil, on grounds of zudpi forest proposal. The move was initiated following the demand raised by Rajura MLA Sanjay Dhote, who claimed that construction of dozens of schools, hospitals, roads, ponds, weirs, water supply schemes are stuck in Jiwti tehsil due to lack for forest clearance.
Whose land is it anyway?
In pre-independence era, the Manikghar hillocks earlier belonged to Nizam estate. Post independence, it went under the authority of Adilabad district in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, and later to Nanded district in Maharashtra. It finally came under jurisdiction of Rajura revenue division in Chandrapur district. Over the period of time, many villages settled over hillocks on forest land. Thousands of non-tribal migrants from Maratwada, too, were allowed to settle on Manikgarh hillocks in 1970. Revenue department treated the entire land as revenue property and even handed over the 7/12 extracts.
When a case was filed in high court in 2009 over Nandori mining lease dispute, the row on the authority over the land came to fore between forest and revenue department. In 2015, high court directed the chief secretary to study the documents. Chief secretary settled the dispute between two departments by declaring entire disputed land as revenue forest, which now lies under Jiwti and Wansadi ranges.
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