Agasthyamalai conservation case: SC directs temporary and non-resident silk cotton cultivators not eligible for protection under FRA Act

The Supreme Court directed on Friday that individuals with temporary residence in the Agasthyamalai biosphere or those living entirely outside the forest boundaries cannot be classified as traditional forest dwellers merely for cultivating silk cotton within the forest.

“Persons falling in Category II and Category III, as classified in the additional affidavit of September 6 filed by Department of Revenue, State of Tamil Nadu, shall be excluded from consideration as forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers for the purposes of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 or FRA Act,” a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed.

According to Tamil Nadu’s own affidavit, 232 persons are cultivating the forest area with temporary residence while 2,767 persons who occupy 2,867.70 hectares land are residing outside the forest boundary and are managing silk cotton cultivation.

The order was passed in furtherance of a May 2026 judgment, which had issued various directions for a structured and time-bound process of eviction, rehabilitation and ecological restoration in the forest areas. The court had ordered the preparation of a division-wise eviction plan, removal of encroachments, and action against identified government servants.

It had imposed a prohibition on approval or commencement of new non-forestry activities or diversion proposals within the Agasthyamalai landscape, and directed continued monitoring of the area by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

Justice Mehta, who authored the order, held the State government “primarily responsible” for delaying the receipt of claims under the 2006 Act. Noting that so far only around 40 gram sabhas had become functional to commence the process of inviting claims, the government gave a last opportunity of 30 days to the State government to complete the formation of the remaining gram sabhas. The process of adjudication of the claims would be concluded within a period of five months from the date of constitution of the gram sabhas.

The court further constituted a ‘special committee’ chaired by former Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai to supervise the expeditious disposal of claims and scrutinise the orders passed by the competent authorities under the 2006 Act.

The Supreme Court directed the CEC to furnish an opinion regarding the government’s view that silk cotton was a ‘minor forest produce’. This is significant for the biosphere. Presently, 3,637.83.2 hectares of the 5,072.64.3 hectares of forest land is under silk cotton cultivation.

Giving a prima facie view against the State’s claim of historical cultivation of silk cotton, the court said “what emerges from the government affidavits is the promotion and sponsored cultivation of silk cotton as a commercial crop”.

“The concept of planned cultivation of commercial crops is totally contrary to the very concept of a naturally occurring minor forest produce. If commercial crops are permitted to be cultivated in the forest areas, the very nature of the forest is bound to change… The fact that large swathes of forest are being destroyed under the garb of cultivation of silk cotton,” the court observed.

Separately, the court directed the CEC to examine the National Highway Authority of India’s proposal relating to NH-744, including the proposed Puliara–Edamon tunnel section, which requires permission for diversion of a limited extent of reserved forest land in the biosphere.