Wardha-Yavatmal Rail Line Faces Legal Hurdles Over Forest Land Discrepancies Delays and cost overruns in the Wardha-Nanded-Yavatmal railway project have been attributed to inaccuracies in forest land entries within revenue records, prompting the Maharashtra government to initiate a statewide effort to reconcile land records. The state has set a deadline of May 31 to update forest land entries in the 7/12 revenue documents, which will affect significant portions of forest land in Vidarbha. The core issue stems from a longstanding mismatch between two parallel land record systems: one maintained by the revenue department through the 7/12 extract and another tracked by the forest department in its internal registers. Over time, these records diverged, leading to discrepancies. In many cases, forest land that was allocated for non-forest purposes decades ago—some before 1980—was never formally denotified, leaving its legal status as forest land. However, the 7/12 records were updated to reflect the name of the occupant, with the forest notation omitted. This created a legal grey zone, as the land remains classified as forest land under the law but no longer appears as such in revenue records. Private parties have since bought and sold such land, leading to encroachments and a surge in litigation. The Supreme Court has also issued directives in related petitions, compelling the state to ensure compliance. To address this, the government has outlined a three-tier process. Forest range officers will first cross-check their records against the talathi’s 7/12 entries to identify mismatches. These discrepancies will be compiled and sent to the deputy conservator of forests, who will verify whether the land is indeed forest land according to departmental records.#maharashtra_government #vidarbha #forest_department #revenue_department #wardhayavatmal_rail_line
