THE RANGE OFFICER/AUTHORISED OFFICER KERALA FOREST DEPARTMENT AND ORS. Vs. MUNNAR TEA GARDEN RESIDENCY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Range Officer/Authorised Officer, Kerala Forest Department and the Tahsildar, Devikulam, who were respondents 1 and 2 in W.P(C) No. 29534 of 2015 have come up in appeal against the judgment dated 26.10.2015 in the aforesaid Writ Petition by which judgment, the learned Single Judge has permitted the petitioner to cut and remove 9 planted Eucalyptus trees from 25 cents of land in R.S. No. 49/1 -1, Block No. 14 of Pallivasal Village.

(2.) Brief facts of the case as emerged from the pleadings on record are: Petitioner is a partnership firm engaged in business of running hotel, hospitality management, etc. For establishing a hotel in Munnar, petitioner purchased 25 cents of land in R.S. No. 49/1 -1 by sale deed dated 06.05.2015. The previous owner of the property was given no objection certificate by the Pallivasal Grama Panchayat on 24.01.2007 for construction of a building in the said property. In the property there were 9 Eucalyptus trees planted by the previous owner. For making any construction in the property, trees were required to be cut and removed. The previous owner had applied for permission to cut and remove the trees in the year 2014 before the Tahsildar, Devikulam. The Tahsildar, by order dated 03.09.2015, Ext. P5, granted permission to the petitioner for cutting and removing the 9 Eucalyptus trees from the property. In pursuance of the permission, workers of the petitioner had cut away branches of three Eucalyptus trees on 17.09.2015. At this juncture, the Range Officer/Authorised Officer intervened and registered a case against the petitioner. Petitioner filed the Writ Petition with the following reliefs:

(3.) Petitioner's case in the Writ Petition is that under the provisions of the Kerala Promotion of Tree Growth in Non -Forest Areas Act, 2005 (for short, "the 2005 Act") permission for cutting Eucalyptus trees is not required. The land being covered by pattayam issued under the Land Assignment Act and Rules, Sec. 5(2) of the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1986 Act") is not applicable.