Representative image of forest land.
Credit: DH Photo
Balehonnur (Chikkamagaluru dist): In two separate cases, the Forest Department has unearthed illegal encroachment of 580 acres of forest land by private individuals and has registered cases against nine people.
In the first case, 450 acres of land in Survey no 122 belonging to the Halasuru Reserve Forest area in Tanoodi village of Kalasa taluk was found to be illegally occupied by three individuals. The department has filed a case against them.
In another case, 130 acres of forest land in Survey no 9 (B Kanabur village) and Survey nos 95, 96, and 97 (Bannur village) of Balehonnur hobli were allegedly encroached upon by six persons. A case has been filed against them as well. The officials have registered cases under various sections of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, and the Karnataka Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
This is reportedly the largest forest land encroachment case detected in the district, and the Forest Department is preparing to register more cases against several others from the Kalasa region, who are believed to have encroached upon hundreds of acres of forest land.