SC issues notice to ex-minister, official for flouting forest rules

Cocking a snook at the 1997 order of the Supreme Court banning operation of all unlicensed wood-based industries in Maharashtra, the state government in 2004 had allowed as many as six unlicensed plywood and veneer units and that too in close proximity to reserve forests.

Taking note of this, the Supreme Court issued notices to the then forest minister Swarup Singh Naik and the additional chief secretary Ashok Khot, who allegedly ignored the court directives and granted permission, asking them to explain why contempt proceedings be not initiated against them.

The application filed by amicus curie and senior advocate Harish Salve alleged that Khot, then the principal forest secretary, had overruled the officials opining against grant of permission to the wood-based industries and the then forest minister had endorsed his decision.

The permissions were given to Oriental Veneer Products Ltd, Pagoda Woods Pvt Ltd, Konark Plywood Industries, Great Western Plywood Industries, Woodmac (Bombay) Pvt Ltd and Luckywood Products Pvt Ltd without the mandatory clearance from the central empowered committee.

Interestingly, the Maharashtra government made it clear before the bench comprising justice Y K Sabharwal, justice Arijit Pasayat and justice S H Kapadia that Khot had in fact gone against the orders of the chief secretary and that the state would not defend his action. Salve, while terming the permissions given to wood-based industries as "total and wilful disregard of the orders of the Supreme Court," said it also violated the Bombay Forest Rules, which prohibit location of any sawmill within 10 kilometres from the boundary of any reserve or protected forest.

He said that the six units, permitted to operate by orders of 2004, were located at a distance of 30 metres to three kms from the boundary of the reserve/protected forest and that the Oriental Veneer Products Ltd was located one kilometre from the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary.

To make the matter worse, the state government had consistently maintained that these six units were unlicensed plywood/veneer units and that they had been closed down pursuant to the March 2, 1997 order of the Supreme Court banning operation of all unlicensed wood-based industries in Maharashtra.

The court passed another order on October 30, 2002 saying "no state or Union territory shall permit any unlicensed sawmills, veneer and plywood industry to operate and they are directed to close all such unlicensed units forthwith."

Salve quoted a Maharashtra government affidavit, which said that the government did not authorise any authority to issue the licence to run veneer and plywood industries in the state without clearance from the Supreme Court.

He said that these six units were sealed but on the guise of representation from them the concerned officer allowed them to operate without waiting for the clearance from the ministry of forest and environment and in violation of Bombay Forest Rules.