Karnataka Forest dept issues eviction order to man for encroaching 5 acre forest land

Raju told the forest officials that he had inherited the property from his father but failed to produce the relevant documents.

The encroached forest area is a vital junction for the movement of elephants.

The official correspondence letters between the forest department and the revenue department accessed by indianexpress.com revealed that in 2018 the then Deputy Conservator of Forest (Bengaluru Urban) Dipika Bajpai wrote to the revenue department that the lands under the ownership of the forest department have been granted with impunity to individuals by the revenue department in Gulakamale village.

The letter read, “An extent of 445 Acres of C & D class land in Survey number 35 & 36 of Gulakamale village , Uttarahalli Hobli, Bangalore South Taluk was transferred to Karnataka Forest Department for afforestation purpose, way back in 1994. This land was afforested under various schemes of plantation by the Forest Department from time to time whereby government funds and resources were spent in protection and conservation of the said land. Over the years, these C & D lands have now transformed into natural forests because of the efforts of the Karnataka Forest Department. The said lands about Bhootanahalli Minor Forest in Anekal Taluk and are contiguous to Bannerghatta National park forming an important corridor to the elephants for a stopover during their seasonal migrations from Bannerghatta to Savandurga forests and vice versa.”

“However, lands under the ownership of Karnataka Forest Department have begun to be granted with impunity to many individuals by the revenue officials and after 2014-15, names of the illegal grantees have begun to get reflected in column 9 of the RTC (records of rights, tenancy and crops),” it further added.

The forest department in 2018 had pointed out that more than 2,000 to 3,000 individuals had in 2018 tried to grab land at survey no 35 of the Gulakamale village forcefully.