Govt seeks speedy adjudication in Jakkur Plantation case

The State government has categorised the Jakkur Plantation reserve forest issue as “sensitive” and “serious” and at the same time has sought speedy adjudication of the case.

The 177-acre 28-gunta land, classified as Jakkur Plantation in the revenue records, has become a bone of contention with the Forest department claiming that the entire parcel of land was “reserve forest” notified way back in 1940. The department has sought that it be recovered.

The land estimated to be valued at Rs 14,000 crore as per present market rate has some high-profile ‘claimants’, including politicians and prominent builders.

The decision of the government to give top priority to the case was taken at a meeting of top revenue and forest department officials.

The meeting attended by Additional Chief Secretary (forest and ecology) Madan Gopal and Principal Secretary Revenue Department Basavaraj was held on September 23 and the case was discussed at length, official sources said.

The meeting also resolved to direct the jurisdictional assistant commissioner to adjudicate the case at the earliest and even advance the date of hearing set by the official.

The then assistant commissioner, Bengaluru North sub-division, N Mahesh Babu, who was adjudicating the case, had already issued notices to the claimants to prove that they were the title holders of the land. The notices were issued on June 26 asking the claimants to depose before the assistant commissioner’s court on August 7. However, it was later posted to November 20.

Sources said as a long time had been given for hearing, a directive was issued to the assistant commissioner to advance the date.

The directive was communicated to the assistant commissioner by the assistant conservator of forest, Bengaluru North sub-division, on September 24.

However, before the assistant commissioner could take a decision on advancing the date, he was transferred. The new assistant commissioner is yet take a decision on the issue, sources said.