Hyderabad: Supreme Court Thursday set aside a high court order and upheld the Telangana govt’s stand in the Sahebnagar Kalan, Gurramguda reserve forest case in Hyderabad. The Gurramguda RF, abutting Vanasthalipuram, spans 102 acres and, according to forest officials, is worth Rs 4,000 crore.One Mir Jafar Ali Khan, claiming to be a descendant of Salar Jung III, Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, the former prime minister of Hyderabad, filed a civil case against the forest department. Rangareddy district forest officer Rohit Goppidi said, “After detailed hearings spread over three days, the Supreme Court conclusively held in favour of the state govt, affirming that the disputed land measuring 102 acres in survey number 201/1 of Sahebnagar Kalan village, forming part of the Gurramguda reserve forest, is govt land, proposed and managed as forest. The court further held that belated and time-barred private claims over notified forest land are not legally sustainable.”The judgment reiterates that forests are national assets and emphasizes the constitutional obligation of the state to protect and conserve forest land. Supreme Court said, “The subject matter has been govt land and the proposals for final notification under Section 15 of the Telangana Forest Act have been validly instituted. The previous judgments are unsustainable, warrant interference, and accordingly, the order of FSO dated Oct 15, 2014, as confirmed by principal district judge and high court, is set aside.“The apex court has asked the forest department to go for a final declaration under Section 15 of the Telangana Forest Act. “It is a matter of common knowledge that lung spaces are shrinking in all cities, and the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are no exceptions. The chief secretary is directed to ensure completion of pending proposals under Section 15 of the Telangana Forest Act for including the subject matter as a reserved forest within eight weeks, and file the compliance status report before the registry of this court,” SC observed.Background of the CaseYousuf Ali Khan (Salar Jung III) was a one-year old minor when his father died and claimed to have got the land in succession. The estate was taken over by the Nizam’s govt, through the Court of Wards, and was claimed to have returned to Salar Jung III upon his attaining majority. On Nov 30, 2005, Mir Jaffar Ali (claimant) filed a petition before the forest section officer claiming a succession right through Salar Jung III. The FSO, at the first instance, on Sept 3, 2010, rejected the claim for exclusion from the proposed notification as a reserved forest and held it’s the govt land.The claimants filed an appeal before the appellate authority, IXth additional district judge, Rangareddy district. The appellate authority, had on March 14, 2012, set aside the order of FSO and remanded the matter to the FSO for fresh enquiry. On remand, the FSO, on October 15, 2014, accepted the claim of the claimants for the land as Arazi-Makta of Salar Jung III and requested the divisional forest officer to exclude the land of appeal from the notifications issued under Sections 4 and 6 of the Telangana Forest Act from Gurramguda forest block and send a revised map for Turkayamjal and Gurramguda villages for final proposals under Section 15 of the Telangana Forest Act to the govt.The forest department, aggrieved by the exclusion of the subject matter from the reserve forest notification, filed an appeal before the appellate authority, the principal district judge, Rangareddy district, at LB Nagar (principal district judge). In 2016, it was dismissed. The state, represented by the forest department, filed a revision petition in high court; however, HC upheld the judgment of RR court. Following this, the forest department filed an appeal at the instance of the state in Supreme Court.
