Complaint in Lokayukta against officials for failure to recover 3,000 acres of forest land in Karnataka’s Shivamogga

While it is mandatory to seek the Union government’s approval before granting forest land, the complainant alleged that no such approvals were taken.

From 2018 to 2021, the office of the assistant commissioner, Sagar, cancelled all the illegal grants. Against the cancellation order, appeals were made by the aggrieved parties before the office of deputy commissioner, Sagar. The office of deputy commissioner also upheld the cancellation order of the assistant commissioner. However, till date the encroachers have not been evicted from the forest lands and the forest department is yet to take the encroached land into their custody.

Veerendra Patil, the advocate representing Achar said, “Permission for the grants was not taken from the central government. And though the illegal grants were cancelled, the authorities are yet to take back the land in their possession. Kan lands are patches of evergreen forests. The grant of these forest lands was made on different dates and they were cancelled on different dates.”

Patil said that it took him a year to access the order copies of illegal grants. The copies have been accessed by indianexpress.com.

Achar has requested the Lokayukta to direct the authorities to issue eviction notices under Section 64(A) of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963 and take action against the authorities for failing to take possession of the forest lands after the grants were cancelled.

The Union Ministry of Environment in April 2022 directed Jawed Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest, Ecology and Environment) to the Government of Karnataka to take necessary action with regards to the issue of dropping of Kan, Jungli, Soppinabetta forest lands in the deemed forest list. Activists say that this was done deliberately to safeguard the encroachers.

In 1996, the Supreme Court in its interim order issued direction for cessation of all non-forestry activities within the forest area without the prior approval of the central government and asserted that the word “forest” must be understood according to its dictionary meaning and any area in the government records irrespective of ownership will be regarded as forest.