10-PIL-97-2010(C).doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO. 97 OF 2010 Pramod Ravindra Dhuri ...Petitioner Versus The State of Maharashtra and Others ...Respondents —————— None for the Petitioner. Mr. A. I. Patel, Addl. G.P. a/w Ms. Tejas J. Kapre, AGP for the Respondent- State. —————— Coram : Sharmila U. Deshmukh & Neeraj P. Dhote, JJ. Date : August 18th, 2026. P. C. : 1. By the present Public Interest Litigation (“PIL”), the grievance raised was with regard to the illegal diversion of forest land for non- forest purposes by the Forest Department of the State Government. It was pleaded that even before Stage-I approval was granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Union of India, on 9th April 2010, diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes was made and the order dated 9th April 2010 granted post-facto Stage-I approval for diversion of 1.25 hectares of reserved forest land for establishing Eco Tourism Centre at Dhamapur village, Taluka Malwan, District Jamadar-SL 1 of 6 2026:BHC-KOL:7711-DB 10-PIL-97-2010(C).doc Sindhudurg. 2. By order dated 19th September 2014, this Court noted that the Stage-I approval was post-facto approval and that there was no Stage-II approval. The affidavit filed on behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Forests recorded that the post-facto approval did not absolve the officials guilty of violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, for which the State Government would have to fix responsibility and intimate the same to the Central Government. By the said order, interim relief was granted staying the post-facto approval dated 9th April 2010, and directions were given to the State Government to file an affidavit setting out the action taken against the erring officers in terms of the recommendation of the Chief Conservator of Forests and the Central Government. A period of two months was also given to the State Government to obtain Stage-II approval from the Union of India. 3. We find on record the affidavit-in-reply filed on behalf of Respondent Nos. 1 and 3 and 3’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. The deponent has pleaded that Dhamapur is considered a tourism place in the working plan of Sawantwadi Forest Division approved vide order dated 27th May 2003 of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the State Government had conveyed its sanction. The construction of cement concrete structures, as pleaded in the Petition, was for the purpose of providing a platform for tents and toilets. Jamadar-SL 2 of 6 10-PIL-97-2010(C).doc 4. Under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, a proposal dated 12th September 2009 for post-facto approval for diversion of 1.25 hectares of forest land was submitted and prior approval was not sought, as there was an assumption that separate approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, was not necessary as it was approved in the Kokan Package Eco Tourism vide the Government Resolution of 2004. 5. The deponent has further stated that there is no permission for igniting fire in the forest for the purpose of cooking food. The outcome of the departmental inquiries against the delinquent officer is also set out in the affidavit. The affidavit also makes a reference to the report of the court-appointed commission, which inspected the Eco Tourism Centre and noted in its report that there is no visual sign of any big tree being hacked or felled in and around the machan structure. 6. It is pleaded that the pleading in the Petition is an estimation that 146 trees were cut, and there is no direct evidence which has been produced. The affidavit in paragraph 5 further pleads that, assuming that 146 trees were cut, steps are being taken to plant 1,460 trees and comply with the order dated 9th April 2010 of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It is further stated that the Ministry of Environment and Forests has granted in-principle approval under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and the NPV is Jamadar-SL 3 of 6 10-PIL-97-2010(C).doc recoverable from the user agency, which in the present case is the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Sawantwadi. 7. It is further pleaded that PIL No. 2 of 2007 filed by the present petitioner was disposed of, granting liberty to the petitioner therein and not the present petitioner to file an independent petition to challenge the permission dated 9th April 2010. It is pleaded that a request has been made for formal approval for diversion of 1.25 hectares of forest area for the project. There is a further affidavit dated 16th January 2015 by the Deputy Conservator of Forests, stating that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhopal (“MoEF”), by letter dated 12th January 2015, has granted approval for the diversion of 1.25 hectares of reserved forest land for construction of Eco Tourism Centre at Dhamapur. 8. None appears on behalf of the Petitioner. 9. The order dated 19th September 2014 was passed, granting the interim relief as at that stage, Stage-I approval had been granted post- facto and there was no Stage-II approval. The Hon'ble Division Bench had directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Maharashtra State, Nagpur, to file an affidavit as regards the steps taken against the erring officers. The order also granted a period of two months to the State Government to obtain Stage-II approval from the Union of India in terms of the direction contained in the order dated 9th April 2010. Jamadar-SL 4 of 6 10-PIL-97-2010(C).doc 10. In accordance with the directions contained in the order of 19th September 2014, the affidavit has been filed by the Chief Conservator of Forests, wherein it is specifically pleaded that action has been taken against the delinquent officers. It is further pleaded that prior approval of the MoEF was not sought under an assumption that such approval was not necessary as it was a Government Resolution which approved the Kokan Package Eco Tourism and the land was included in the working plan in the Eco Tourism working circle, which was approved by the Government of India. 11. The affidavit further sets out that in terms of the Stage-I approval, the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Sawantwadi, who is the user agency for the project, has paid the amount of NPV on behalf of the State Government. The project is therefore in accordance with the Government Resolution regarding Eco Tourism, and the post-facto sanction was granted by the Central Government, which was the Stage-I approval. Subsequently, the affidavit dated 16th January 2015 states that on 12th January 2015, the approval was granted by MoEF, which is a formal approval under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. 12. As necessary sanctions and permissions are now in place, it appears that the Petitioner is not interested in prosecuting the PIL. There is no material on record to demonstrate that these permissions and sanctions have been challenged in any independent proceedings. Jamadar-SL 5 of 6 10-PIL-97-2010(C).doc 13. We are satisfied with the affidavits which have been filed by the Deputy Conservator of Forests and find that approval has been granted for diversion of 1.25 hectares of land by the MoEF, subject to the conditions which have been duly complied with. Resultantly, the PIL stands disposed of. [Neeraj P. Dhote, J.] [Sharmila U. Deshmukh, J.] Jamadar-SL 6 of 6