Confiscate 301 acres of forest land as per court order: Eshwar Khandre

Bengaluru: Minister of Forests, Ecology and Environment Eshwara B Khandre has instructed to take back the 301.07 acres of forest land from Survey No 1 to 22 of Hassan District Channarayapatna Taluk KagaliKavalu area as per court orders.

In connection with a Public Interest Litigation (WP 11835/2000) filed in the High Court in 2000 by Gram Aranya Samiti President Ramakrishne Gowda, the court has expressed deep displeasure against all APCCFs and Hassan DCFs of the Law Department who have canceled all the unauthorized sanction in 2009 and have ordered the land to be saved as forest. .

In this regard, in a note given to the Deputy Chief Secretary of the Department of Forests, Ecology and Environment, the Minister has directed to take action to take possession of the said land and to issue notices to all APCCFs and Deputy Conservators of Forests

who are negligent and derelict of duty.

On January 15, 1940, Channarayapatna Taluk Kaggali area was declared as a small forest during the reign of the then Maharaja. But the said small forest land was sanctioned illegally. Ramakrishne Gowda bin Ere Gowda had filed a public interest petition in the High Court against this.

A division bench headed by the then Chief Justice PD Dhinakaran and Mohan Shantanagowder had on November 6, 2009 quashed all the concessions and ordered that 331.07 acres of KaggaliKavalu Survey No. 1 to 22 should be preserved as forest. Later, the Forest Minister has expressed his displeasure over the fact that some Deputy Conservators of Forests of Hassan district have written a letter to Channarayapatna Tehsildar, but no attempt has been made to reclaim this land and cultivate forests.