120 acres of encroached forest land, worth Rs 4K cr, in Kadugodi recovered

Bengaluru: The Forest Department on Monday recovered 120 acres of encroached forest land in Kadugodi, valued at Rs 4,000 crore, in the heavily concretised Bengaluru East area.

The commercial value of the reclaimed land is estimated at around Rs 4,000 crore.

This 120-acre patch forms part of the 711 acres of forest in Survey Number 1, Kadugodi Plantation, Bidarahalli hobli, Bangalore East taluk.

The land was originally notified as forest by the Government of Mysore in May 1896. However, it had been encroached upon over the past two decades due to rapid urbanisation.

"The Supreme Court has ruled that once a land is a forest, it always remains a forest. We must save Bengaluru’s last remaining lung spaces. I had brought the encroachment issue to the Chief Minister’s notice. With police support, we carried out the eviction drive,” said Eshwar B Khandre, Minister, Forest, Ecology and Environment.

'Daring operation'

Sources described the eviction drive as a daring operation, as political pressure had prevented the department from reclaiming the land for decades.

Of the original 711 acres, the Forest Department lost claim over 449 acres after failing to challenge a High Court judgment within the appeal period.

In the remaining area, two residential colonies had sprung up.

Led by Bengaluru Urban Deputy Conservator of Forests N Ravindrakumar, Assistant Conservator of Forests V Ganesh, KR Puram Range Forest Officer Raghu M, and other Bengaluru Urban Division staff, the team recovered the land.

"The 120 acres were mostly vacant, though two politically connected individuals were attempting to sell small parcels. A few structures had come up and had to be removed as they violated forest rules and the Supreme Court judgment on forest land. Police assistance was essential to complete the eviction,” a source said.