TIMBER!

TIMBER!
Bengaluru,







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Over a century ago, 711 acres opposite the ITPL were declared state forests. Today a mere 80 acres of this forest land remains, while the rest is under litigation The government must intervene and retrieve the entire forest patch that has been sold as real estate. But land prices around Whitefield are high and it might be difficult for the department to retrieve the forest land. N. Mahesh, Local resident What was the forest department doing all these years when a government agency (KIADB) was acquiring the land? The laidback attitude of the forest department has made them lose prime forest in many parts of the state Santosh Kumar, Environmentalist
Urba nisation is stealthily eating into the city’s green cover even as the forest department battles to save it.

Over a century ago 711 acres opposite the ITPL were declared state forests. Today only a mere 80 acres of this forest land remain, while the rest is under litigation.

The forest department has booked cases against several industries which have occupied the Kadugodi reserve forest, particularly after the findings of the joint fact-finding committee headed by MLA A.T. Ramaswamy. The revenue deputy commissioner cancelled the grants of 132 persons in 2007 after the urban forest division filed cases against them for encroachment. But the battle is far from over. The department is still fighting to recover about 400 acres of forest land , whose estimated value is about Rs 2 crore per acre.A number of government and private establish ments claim ownershi of this land. Among them are the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), the South Western Railway (SWR), and several industries.

The forest department accuses the KIADB of legitimising the encroachments by acquiring nearly 589 acres of forest land for its use from unauthorised occupants without bothering to verify their records. The KIADB in turn allotted the land to industries, compounding the problem, it says. “In 1970 around 130 farmers, who formed the Kadu godi Farmers Co-operative Society, began farming on forest land. After the society was liquidated the farmers created bogus records with the help of revenue officials and distributed the forest land among them themselves.

In 1980 the KIADB acquired these lands from the 108 illegal owners paying them compensation of Rs 30,000 per acre,” a forest officer maintains.

Soon after acquir ing the land from the farmers, the KIADB sold it to a number of industries without informing the forest department since it claimed to be sure about the records provided by them.

“Any government officer can tell the records are fake,” the forest officer adds. In 2007 the forest department took action against the KIADB and booked cases against another government agency as well for having acquired and sold forest land.

Meanwhile, the forest department has begun an inquiry into tree felling by Concord India Ltd in the disputed area. Company officials were not available for comment.