Maharashtra CM hails SC's 'zudpi jungle' order as historic

Nagpur, May 22 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court's decision on 'zudpi jungle' or scrub forests as historic and revolutionary and asserted it maintains a balance between development and environment.

The Supreme Court on Thursday declared 'zudpi jungle' lands in Maharashtra's eastern Vidarbha region as forests in line with its 1996 verdict but protected the structures existing on it for decades.

A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih noted that "zudpi" was a Marathi word, literally translating to bushes or shrubs and "zudpi" lands meant an inferior type of unoccupied lands with bushy growth.

The top court was dealing with the issue over the status of such lands in the districts of Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra's eastern Vidarbha region.

"The Supreme Court through this decision has done a very important job of providing relief to the struggle of Vidarbha that has been going on for the last 45 years. Development and irrigation projects were largely stalled," the Maharashtra CM told reporters.

"An exception has been made for lands that were allotted before 1996. A process has been devised for lands allotted in 1996. Accordingly, the state government can request those lands from the Centre. The slumdwellers affected by the zudpi jungle concept in Nagpur will get ownership rights," he added. PTI CLS BNM