RTI for Maharashtra Forest Department — Forest Land, Tiger Reserve, FRA Rights and CAMPA Fund Records

Maharashtra is home to some of India's most ecologically significant forests and some of its most complex forest governance challenges. The Forest Department (Van Vibhag), Government of Maharashtra administers over 61,000 square kilometres of recorded forest area — spanning the dense tiger habitats of Vidarbha, the biodiversity-rich Sahyadri ranges of the Western Ghats, and the tribal forest landscapes of Gadchiroli. Managing this forest estate involves the Forest Department's engagement with multiple intersecting legal frameworks: the Indian Forest Act, 1927; the Forest Conservation Act, 1980; the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; the Forest Rights Act, 2006; the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016; and a growing body of National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders on eco-sensitive zones. The Right to Information Act, 2005 gives every citizen and every affected community a legally enforceable right to the records behind this governance. This guide explains what information you can seek, how to structure your RTI application to the Maharashtra Forest Department, and how to pursue appeals through the Maharashtra State Information Commission (MSIC) if the response is unsatisfactory.

Forest Land Encroachment Records

Forest land encroachment — the unauthorised occupation or use of reserved forest, protected forest, or national park/sanctuary land — is one of the most contested issues in Maharashtra's forest administration. The Forest Department is required to detect encroachments, issue notices under the Indian Forest Act or relevant provisions, and take eviction or regularisation action. In practice, however, encroachment records are maintained at the divisional and range level and are rarely placed proactively in the public domain.

RTI filed with the CPIO at the relevant DFO's office can compel disclosure of: the total encroachment area recorded as on a given date, compartment-wise and range-wise; the number of encroachment cases pending for more than one year and the reasons for pendency; the action taken on encroachments by SC/ST/OBC claimants as distinct from commercial or institutional encroachers (since FRA 2006 creates rights for tribal communities that affect eviction proceedings); and whether any encroachments have been regularised and under what legal authority.

In Gadchiroli district — where deep forest covers large tracts and tribal communities have lived on forest land for generations — encroachment data intersects closely with FRA claims. An eviction notice issued to a tribal family whose FRA claim is pending at the SDLC is legally problematic, and RTI can surface whether the Forest Department is coordinating encroachment action with the FRA process or acting in contradiction to it.

Forest Rights Act 2006: Monitoring Tribal Claims Through RTI

The Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) is a landmark legislation that recognises and vests forest rights — including rights of individual occupation (Individual Forest Rights, IFR) and community management (Community Forest Rights, CFR) — in Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers. Maharashtra has one of India's largest eligible tribal populations, concentrated in Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Amravati, Nandurbar, Nashik, and Thane districts.

FRA implementation involves a three-tier committee structure: the Gram Sabha at the village level; the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) chaired by the Sub-Divisional Officer; and the District Level Committee (DLC) chaired by the District Collector. The Forest Department is a member of both the SDLC and DLC and maintains its own records of FRA claim verification reports. Despite more than a decade of implementation, Maharashtra's FRA data reveals large numbers of pending and rejected claims, and a significant proportion of rejections have been found on review to be procedurally flawed — made without proper Gram Sabha consultation or without communicating reasons to claimants.

RTI is the primary tool for affected tribal communities and supporting civil society organisations to track the real status of FRA claims at each committee level, establish whether rejection orders were communicated with reasons, check whether Community Forest Right claims are being processed alongside individual claims, and obtain the records of SDLC and DLC meetings. This information can then be used to support appeals to the DLC (for SDLC rejections) or to the High Court (for DLC rejections), or to raise the matter with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs at the Central level.

CAMPA Fund: Accountability for Compensatory Afforestation

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) represent the principal mechanism for ensuring that forest land diverted to development projects is compensated by equivalent plantation and forest protection elsewhere. Maharashtra receives significant annual CAMPA allocations — given the scale of forest land diversion for mining, road projects, transmission lines, and industrial corridors across the state.

The State CAMPA funds are to be spent on activities specified in the Annual Plan of Operations (APO), which must be prepared by the state government and approved by the National CAMPA Authority. The APO specifies plantation targets, forest protection activities, infrastructure for forest staff, and wildlife management works. These are official records that must be disclosed under the RTI Act.

RTI filed with the CPIO at the Office of the PCCF (Nagpur) or with the State CAMPA nodal officer can reveal: the total CAMPA funds received and the APO approved for a given financial year; district-wise or division-wise allocation of plantation targets; the actual physical achievement (hectares planted, survival percentage); and whether any CAMPA expenditure was made on heads not specified in the approved APO. In Vidarbha and other forest-dependent regions, this information helps communities verify whether compensatory plantations are actually being raised in their districts or whether CAMPA funds are being spent on administrative overheads at headquarters.

Tiger Reserves and Wildlife Data

Maharashtra's three principal tiger reserves are among India's most important for tiger conservation. Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district is one of India's most successful reserves and hosts one of the country's densest tiger populations. Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district covers the rugged Satpura ranges and is home to tigers, leopards, gaur, and significant prey base. Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve in Gondia and Bhandara districts is a more recently notified reserve that connects important Central Indian forest corridors. The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve spans the Western Ghats in Kolhapur, Satara, and Sangli districts.

Each tiger reserve is administered by a Field Director who serves as the CPIO for that reserve. RTI to these offices can obtain: population estimation reports (camera trap census data, methodology, survey area); annual records of human-wildlife conflict incidents in the buffer zone and the compensation paid to affected families under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; the number of anti-poaching cases registered and their current status; records of forest protection staff deployed in core zones; and compliance with tiger reserve management plan requirements under NTCA guidelines.

Wildlife data beyond tiger reserves — including wildlife sanctuary census records, the Schedule I species sighting data, and records of wildlife crime under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 — can be sought from the CPIO at the relevant DFO or CF's office.

Eco-Sensitive Zone Compliance

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) around most National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in Maharashtra. ESZ notifications place restrictions on activities such as mining, commercial construction, resort development, and heavy industry within a defined buffer area around the protected area boundary. Violations of ESZ norms — which are common in the Western Ghats region around hill stations, pilgrimage centres, and resort destinations, as well as around protected areas in Vidarbha — fall within the Forest Department's enforcement mandate and are also subject to NGT jurisdiction.

RTI to the DFO or CF's office, or to the State Board for Wildlife under the Forest Department, can reveal: the list of activities requiring prior approval under the ESZ notification for a specific protected area; the approvals granted or refused; the violations detected and the penalties imposed; and whether any cases have been referred to the NGT. This information is particularly valuable for communities living near ESZs who observe commercial activities that appear to violate the notified restrictions.

Timber Auctions and Forest Produce Records

Forest produce extracted under scientific working plans — including timber, bamboo, tendu leaves, and other non-timber forest produce — is auctioned by the Forest Department at regular intervals. Auction records include the species and volume auctioned, the forest compartments from which extraction was authorised, reserve prices, bid amounts, and successful bidder details. These records are official documents maintained by the DFO and are fully disclosable under the RTI Act.

RTI on timber auction records is relevant in areas where allegations of undervaluation (selling timber at below-market reserve prices), irregular award to preferred bidders, or extraction in excess of the quantities approved in working plans have been raised. In Gadchiroli and other Naxal-affected districts, where access restrictions have historically limited public scrutiny of forest operations, RTI is particularly important for civil society oversight of the timber trade.

How to File Your RTI with the Maharashtra Forest Department

Step 1 — Identify the correct office. For encroachment, FRA claims, local wildlife data, and timber auctions, file with the CPIO at the DFO's office for the relevant forest division. Each district in Maharashtra typically falls within one or more forest divisions; the DFO's address is available at the Forest Department's website or from the District Collector's office. For CAMPA fund utilisation and state-level wildlife policy, file with the CPIO at the Office of the PCCF, Aranya Bhawan, Seminary Hills, Nagpur — 440006. For tiger reserve-specific data, file with the CPIO at the Office of the Field Director of the relevant tiger reserve.

Step 2 — File online or by post. RTI applications to the Maharashtra Forest Department can be filed online through rtionline.gov.in (for state government bodies registered on this portal) or through the Maharashtra government portal at aaplesarkar.mahaonline.gov.in. Physical applications may be submitted by post or hand delivery with a ₹10 Indian Postal Order (IPO) drawn in favour of the Accounts Officer of the relevant Forest Department office. BPL cardholders are exempt from the fee and should attach a copy of their BPL ration card. Under Section 6(2) of the RTI Act, the CPIO cannot demand reasons for seeking information.

Step 3 — Be specific in your information request. Naming the forest division, range, compartment number, financial year, and the specific document type (encroachment ATR, FRA claim register, CAMPA APO, auction record) will result in a more precise response and reduce the likelihood of the CPIO claiming the request is vague. Where you seek certified copies of specific orders or reports, say so explicitly.

Step 4 — Track and escalate. The CPIO must respond within 30 days under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, or within 48 hours if the information concerns life or liberty. If the response is absent, incomplete, or evasive:

• First Appeal (Section 19(1)): File with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) — typically the Conservator of Forests (CF) of the circle — within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. No fee is payable. The FAA must decide within 30 days (extendable to 45 days with recorded reasons under Section 19(6)).
• Second Appeal (Section 19(3)): If the FAA's decision is unsatisfactory or not received, file a Second Appeal with the Maharashtra State Information Commission (MSIC) under Section 19(3) within 90 days of the FAA's decision or the expiry of the FAA's decision period. MSIC can direct disclosure and impose a penalty of ₹250 per day (up to ₹25,000) on the CPIO under Section 20 of the RTI Act for failure to provide information without reasonable cause.

RTI responses from the Maharashtra Forest Department form a documentary foundation for complaints to the National Green Tribunal, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (for FRA implementation failures), the National CAMPA Authority (for CAMPA fund misuse), and state-level legislative committees overseeing forest and environment governance.