New Delhi, May 19 -- In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court May 15, 2025 directed the Chief Secretaries of all the states and the administrators of all the Union territories (UT) to constitute special investigation teams for the purpose of examining as to whether any of the reserved forest land in the possession of the revenue department has been allotted to any private individuals / institutions for any purpose other than the forestry purpose.

Moreover, state governments and Union territories must initiate actions to reclaim reserved forest land from individuals or institutions currently holding it and transfer it to the forest department.

If reclaiming the land is deemed not to serve the broader public interest, the state government...