Archive · 4 Sep 2025
Rs 1 Crore Tree: Railway Seeks Refund After Misidentification
Imagine a tree that everyone thought was super valuable, like a treasure!
A railway company needed some land from a farmer, including a tree.
Based on some old papers, the tree was thought to be a rare and expensive type, worth a lot of money.
The railway paid a big amount as a deposit.
But, later, experts checked the tree again.
They found out it was a different, less valuable kind of tree.
Now, the railway wants some money back because the tree wasn't as special as they thought.
The farmer argues that the original valuation was based on official errors and that they should be compensated.
It's like thinking you have a diamond but it turns out to be a piece of glass – you'd want your money back!
A tree was initially valued at Rs 1 crore but later found to be worth only Rs 10,981.
The case involves the acquisition of farmland for a railway project in Yavatmal district.
The tree was initially identified as red sandalwood but was later confirmed to be Bijasal.
The Indian Railways is seeking a refund from the Bombay High Court.
The farmer’s family argues that the original valuation was correct based on official documents.
- Who
- Indian Railways and a farmer named Keshav Tukaram Shinde.
- What
- A tree initially valued at Rs 1 crore was found to be worth only Rs 10,981, prompting the Railway to seek a refund.
- When
- The case dates back to 2018 when land was acquired, with the valuation of the tree being finalized much later.
- Where
- Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, India, with the case in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.
- Why
- The Railway seeks a refund because the tree was misidentified as red sandalwood, leading to an inflated valuation.
- Original Valuation
- Rs 1 crore
- Revised Valuation
- Rs 10,981
- Tree Species
- Initially Red Sandalwood, later identified as Bijasal
- Project
- Wardha-Yavatmal-Pusad-Nanded railway line
- Farmer
- Keshav Tukaram Shinde