Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: Zudpi Jungle Lands.

A batch of applications involved a peculiar issue concerning the situation prevailing in the six districts of eastern Vidarbha region namely Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The issue pertains to the status of the parcels of lands known as Zudpi jungle or Zudpi forest in the aforesaid districts of Maharashtra. “Zudpi” is a Marathi word which means bushes/shrubs. Zudpi lands means inferior type of unoccupied lands with bushy growth.

Order of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Giri Gobardhan Forest Committee Vs State of Odisha & Others dated 15/05/2025.

Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: T N Godavarman Thirumalpad Vs Union of India & Others.

The Supreme Court said that that the allotment of 11.89 hectare of reserve forest land in Survey No.21 Kondhwa Budruk in district Pune for agriculture purposes on August 28, 1998 and subsequent permission given for its sale in favour of Richie Rich Cooperative Housing Society (RRCHS) on October 30, 1999 was totally illegal.

Reply by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in the matter of Yudhveer Singh Chauhan Vs Uttarakhand Forest Department & Others dated 09/05/2025.

The matter related to a cold storage project initiated at Mandi Samiti, Vikasnagar, Uttarakhand without obtaining necessary permissions, including prior approval for felling trees.

Affidavit by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in OA No. 20 of 2025 (News item titled Assam forest's shrink by 83.92 sq km in just two years Report appearing in the Assamtribune.com dated 22.12.2024). The application was registered suo motu based on the news item titled "Assam's forests shrink by 83.92 sq km in just two years report" appearing in the Assamtribune.com dated December 22, 2024.

Order of the Supreme Court in the matter of Sugra Adiwasi & Others Vs Pathranand & Others dated 29/04/2025. The bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the state of Madhya Pradesh as well as the central government through the the Ministries of Tribal Affairs and Environment and Forest to file detailed affidavit indicating the provisions for construction of houses in the forest area, if permissible. They should also annex to the affidavit(s), the concerned rules and regulations.

Affidavit by the state of Goa in the matter of news item titled "India lost 2.33 million hectares of tree cover since 2000 global forest watch" appearing in the Indian Express dated April 13, 2024.

As per the State of Forests Report of 2023, the total forest cover in Goa is 2,265.72 sq km which amounts to 61.20 per cent of Goa's geographical area. "Data clearly indicates a consistent and steady increase in forest cover in Goa since 2001.

Affidavit on behalf of Union Territory of Puducherry in the matter of a news item titled "India lost 2.33 million hectares of tree cover since 2000 Global Forest Watch" which appeared in the Indian Express, April 13, 2024.

The report dated April 25, 2025 said that there is no loss of green cover in Puducherry.

Affidavit filed by Chhattisgarh East West Railway Limited in the matter of Sudiep Shrivastava Vs Union of India & Others dated 15/04/2025.

The appeal was disposed of by the NGT, April 29, 2019. However, the order was challenged before the Supreme Court (SC). The SC, November 26, 2024 disposed of the appeal by restoring the appeal for hearing and consideration of the appellant's submissions regarding an alternative route to the one commencing from Pendra road to Gevra road.

Order of the National Green Tribunal (Central Zone Bench, Bhopal) in the matter of Naresh Vashisth Vs Union of India & Others dated 08/04/2025.

Issue raised in the application is encroachment of land of village Amer which comes under reserved forest and "Vankhand Amer-54 of Nahargarh Wildlife Sanctuary."