JOIN USForest dept fencing its land to keep encroachers at bay
The Forest department has taken up a massive drive to fence its land in and around the City, in the wake of increasing encroachment of government lands and the booming real estate around Bengaluru.
In 2013-14, the Forest department constructed a boundary wall of 147.317 km and in 2014- 15, 32.9 km. Most of the encroachment has been cleared in Bengaluru South and East. This includes land in reserve forests, lake beds, State forests and minor forest patches.
“The drive was started around three years ago. After fencing the land, we will create a tree park and undertake afforestation activities. This is the need of the hour. Funds are not a problem as every year, Rs five crore to Rs six crore is allocated for building boundary walls.
“The challenge before us is identifying the land and keeping it free of encroachments. Clearing encroachments is another challenge for the department,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Vinay Luthra told Deccan Herald.
Compound walls
The highest number of compound walls have been constructed in and around Kaggalipura, Yelahanka, Anekal, Turahalli, BM Kaval and KR Puram.
These are also the areas where maximum development, encroachment and mining cases are reported. So far, the department has spent around Rs 47 lakh for building the walls.
In areas around Bannerghatta, the department is struggling to protect the forest area from realtors for layout formation and from the sand mafia.
In case of Jarakabandekaval and Turahalli, the department is mapping the areas to protect them from government and private realtors, another forest official said.
The official said that in most cases, the department was finding in difficult to identify the exact extent of land encroached, because the topography has changed.
“Since development of apartments and commercial spaces is very high and land is a priced commodity, we do not want to go wrong in calculations and harass somebody.
“However, we cannot let forest land be lost for development. There is a need for tree parks and lung spaces. All the protected areas will be turned into tree parks and lung spaces. The government has approved this proposal. In many cases, legal battles for clearing the land are being fought with private builders.