New Delhi, Dec. 19 -- The Supreme Court has reiterated that forest land cannot be diverted or utilised for non-forestry purposes, including agricultural cultivation, without prior approval of the Central Government as mandated under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Hearing an appeal filed by the State of Karnataka, the Court held that permitting or continuing agricultural activity on forest land would inevitably involve clearing of forest cover, which is expressly barred under the statutory scheme governing forest conservation.
A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside a judgment of the Karnataka High Court, which had allowed a cooperative society to make a representation for the continuation of a leas...