(1.) This petition is filed by the petitioners under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking direction to restrain and prohibit the Forest Department from restraining the petitioners from cultivating the piece of land within survey No.5/paike 1 of the old tenure which is identified as waste land between the road, in the revenue limit of village Vateda, Taluka: Limkheda, District: Dahod.
(2.) The main submission of learned advocate for the petitioners is that the despite the decree in favour of the ancestors of the petitioners with regards to their occupying the forest land for cultivation which is of 29.09.1995 against the Forest Department, the Forest Department under the guise of undertaking the Revision of all the forest lands across the State under the directions of this Court in Public Interest Litigation No.100 of 2011, not only dispossessed the petitioners, but have also extinguished the rights which were available to the petitioners under the decree. Learned advocate submits that under the direction of this Court in order of PIL No.100 of 2011, the Sub-Divisional Level Committee and the District Level Committee were obliged to consider the evidence that may be produced by the petitioners and consider the claim for their rights to cultivate in the forest land, only a show is made of such hearings, but in fact no effective hearing is given to the petitioners. It is also submitted that under the provisions of the Scheduled Tribe and other Traditional Forest Dweller (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, the rights of the petitioners is recognized under the statute, but still the Forest Department in high handed manner have dispossessed the petitioners from their lands and now it appears that the same have been allotted to some other party under the pretest of afforestation.
(3.) Learned Assistant Government Pleader opposes the petition by submitting that the petitioners have other remedy available and though the alleged action against the petitioners has been taken long back, it is only in 2016 that the present petition is filed. It is submitted that the decision against the petitioners was also taken in the year 2011 and with regards to the land in question, the same has been allotted in favour of one Vateda Sahakari Vruksh Ucherak Mandali for the purpose of protecting the forest land and permitting the minor forest produce to be taken by members of such society.