After several decades of litigation over about 86,000 hectares of Zudpi jungle (shrub forest) lands peculiar to Maharashtra’s eastern Vidarbha region, the Supreme Court last month ruled that such lands should be considered as “forest” lands.On May 22, the top court provided clarity on the usage of Zudpi lands, saying they cannot be converted without prior approval from the central government, and only after complying with the conditions laid down by the court.Zudpi jungle lands in VidarbhaAn official report referred to by the court says Zudpi is a Marathi word that literally translates to bushes or shrubs, and Zudpi land means an inferior type of unoccupied land with bushy growth.The term was used for all wastelands that were not occupied by individual farmers for cultivation and other purposes.According to the report, Zudpi jungle lands are peculiar to six districts of eastern Vidarbha (Nagpur division) – Nagpur, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Wardha, and Gondia – and have been used for non-forest purposes for the past several decades.These lands, traditionally used for grazing, were classified as Gairan under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966.For decades, legal status uncertainVidarbha’s Zudpi lands remained in a legal limbo for decades due to administrative lapses, inconsistent government actions, and contrasting interpretations of India’s forest laws.Story continues below this adInitially vested with the Revenue Department, these lands were used for development, public amenities like schools, health centres, water pipelines, burial grounds, and for allotment to landless farmers. They were also used for infrastructure projects, including railways, defence, and irrigation.After the reorganisation of states in 1960, similar lands elsewhere in Maharashtra were recorded as Gairan or Gurcharan. However, in Vidarbha, they continued to be classified as ‘Zudpi Jungle’ due to bureaucratic inaction.The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA) prohibited diversion of forest land without the Centre’s approval. However, in November 1987, the Maharashtra government issued an order declaring Zudpi lands as “scrub forests” that would not attract the provisions of FCA, and handed them to the Revenue Department for afforestation and grazing purposes.This 1987 Government Order was challenged by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.Story continues below this adWhile this plea was pending, the Centre in February 1992 changed and relaxed its earlier position. It clarified that Zudpi Jungle would continue to be treated as “forest lands” under the FCA; however, for the part of Zudpi lands that were used for non-forest purposes, the state government shall make a proposal to the Centre seeking its approval under the FCA.Taking a cue from the Centre’s decision, the Maharashtra government in 1994 withdrew its 1987 order.With these changing positions, ambiguity prevailed until the Supreme Court’s December 12, 1996 judgment in the ‘TN Godavarman Thirumulpad’ case, which stated that Zudpi lands would also be treated as ‘forest lands’ under the FCA.In 1998, a High-Powered Committee appointed by the state government recommended that 92,115 hectares should be declared protected forests and 86,409 hectares that were unfit for forest use should be de-notified.Story continues below this adEight years ago, the state government again pushed to denotify Zudpi jungle lands.In 2019, the Maharashtra government, through the Divisional Commissioner, Nagpur, filed an interim application and sought the SC’s approval to exclude the latter category of land from the purview of FCA.Also Read | The Veeraswami case: When can a sitting judge face an FIR?The SC formed a Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which filed its first report after site visits. Since some issues were yet to be resolved, the SC last year sought another report from the CEC. This report formed the basis of the SC’s May 22, 2025 verdict.Contentions of the government and environmentalistsGOVERNMENT: The Maharashtra government argued that Zudpi lands were never forest lands, and due to the reorganisation of states and the inaction of certain officials, the revenue records were never corrected.Story continues below this adAs such, these lands continued to be erroneously described as Zudpi lands in revenue records. The state argued that denying it relief would lead to “grave and irreparable damage” to lakhs of citizens, and would stall several projects.INTERVENER: Environmentalist Prasad Khale, intervener in the case, however, argued that de-notifying these lands would degrade healthy forests and disrupt wildlife corridors.He submitted that the 2025 CEC report had ignored ecological concerns, including those of wildlife corridors and the protection of scrub forests, which should not be used for non-forest activities.SC directives strike a balanceThe Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and Justice Augustine Masih said that it could arrive at a solution to “balance the rights of the citizens at large on one hand and the interest of the environment on the other hand” due to the efforts made by the CEC.Story continues below this adThe SC recognised that a large number of Zudpi lands in Nagpur city alone had public utilities such as the High Court building, defence buildings, state secretariat, graveyards, etc. It said citizens residing on these lands for years, or farmers could not be deprived of their residence or livelihood.Therefore, the Supreme Court held that Zudpi jungle lands would be treated as forests, but made exceptions for lands allotted for non-forest use before December 12, 1996. For such lands, where classification (purpose) hadn’t changed, the state would be required to obtain the Centre’s approval under Section 2 of the FCA for their deletion from the list of forest areas.The court said the Centre shall consider proposals without imposing compensatory afforestation conditions, and should not seek deposition of Net Present Value (NPV) levies.The court directed the Centre and the state to consult and finalise a proposal format within three months with prior approval of the CEC.Story continues below this adFor post-December 12, 1996 allotments of Zudpi lands, the Centre shall process proposals only after ascertaining reasons and ensuring action against the officers who took allotment decisions in violation of the SC’s directions.Special Task Forces in each district will remove encroachments made after October 25, 1980, within two years. All commercial allotments post-October 25, 1989, are to be treated as encroachments.The court clarified no land may be diverted to non-government entities after scrutiny. The Revenue Department must transfer remaining Zudpi lands to the Forest Department within a year, which are to be used for compensatory afforestation. Other Zudpi lands will not be allowed for compensatory afforestation unless certified by the Chief Secretary.Benefitting the state’s development plansThe verdict has in some ways paved the way for infrastructure and other development works that the state government plans to undertake on certain tracts of lands, after obtaining approval from the central government. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the ruling, calling it a boost to Vidarbha’s stalled development.Story continues below this adThe CEC will monitor the transfer of forest land, as directed by the SC. States and Union Territories have been directed to reclaim possession of such lands from occupiers and hand them over to the Forest Department. The SC had said that if reclaiming possession is not in the public interest, the state/UTs shall recover land costs from occupiers and use them to develop forests.