The placement of power grid infrastructure objects in forest-park zones is allowed only for purposes permitted by forestry legislation.
For each category of protective forests, a legal regime of their use is established, which must be mandatorily taken into account when considering the possible placement of non-forest infrastructure objects.
Placement of electric power grid infrastructure objects in forest-park zones is permissible only for the purposes of energy supply to objects, placement of which in these zones is allowed by forest legislation.
Network organization filed a claim with the court requesting to declare unlawful the refusal by the forest management authority to issue a permit for the use of part of a land plot located within the forest park zone, for the purpose of installing a cable line to provide technological connection to an object (residential house) being constructed outside the forest park area.
Satisfying the application, courts proceeded from the fact that the disputed cable line is not a capital construction object, and therefore the placement of this structure on a land plot belonging to the category of forest-park zones does not contradict paragraph 5 of part 2 of Article 114 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation.
The judicial panel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation annulled the judicial acts adopted in the case and referred the case for reconsideration due to the following reasons.
Forests located in forest-park zones are classified as protective forests performing functions of protecting natural and other objects (article 10, part 1 of article 111, paragraph 4 of part 1 of article 114 of the Russian Forestry Code (RF FC)). For forests of this category, in accordance with the principles of forestry legislation established in article 1 of the RF FC, a legal regime has been established, determined by their intended purpose, namely: organization of public recreation, preservation of sanitary-hygienic and health-improving functions and aesthetic [value](/enc/23562/ "Definition of the term
«Values» in the legal encyclopedia) natural landscapes.
According to paragraph 5 of part 2 of article 114 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation, the construction of capital construction objects is prohibited in forests located in forest-park areas, except for bicycle, running and other similar paths and hydraulic engineering structures.
With regard to buildings and structures not classified as capital construction objects, the following should be noted.
In accordance with paragraph 10 of Article 21 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation Government of the Russian Federation, by decree dated April 23, 2022, No. 999-r, approved List of non-capital structures and facilities not related to the creation of forest infrastructure for protective forests, operational forests, reserve forests. Placement of non-capital linear objects not related to recreational activities in forest-park zones was not included in the aforementioned list during the disputed period
was provided for
Based on the permissive type of legal regulation of forest relations, the placement of objects of power grid facilities in forest park zones is possible only for the purposes of energy supply to objects whose placement is permitted by forest legislation in these zones. Exceptions apply to objects constructed prior to the approval of the boundaries of the forest park zone or prior to the approval of the corresponding restrictions.
The argument of the society that laying the cable line through the protective forest is necessary for the purpose of technological connection of the under-construction residential building to the power supply system and that this method is less costly and more convenient for the network organization does not entail an obligation on the part of the management to issue a permit for the use of the forest land for these purposes.
According to the norms of forest legislation protective forests are subject to development and use only for the purposes of preserving environment-forming, water protection, protective, sanitary-hygienic, health-improving and other beneficial functions of forests, therefore the network company should first address the issue of ensuring energy supply through existing networks located around the forest park zone, including by reconstructing these networks and existing transformer substations.
Source: Thematic Review of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 11/2026. On the consideration by courts of cases related to the rights to land plots of certain categories of land removed from circulation and restricted in circulation, and on the use of such plots