HC sets aside order declaring 60 acres as forest land

The High Court has set aside the order of the assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Hosanagara sub-division in Shivamogga district, declaring 60 acres of land as reserved forest.

The Ramachandrapura Mutt had challenged the order of the ACF, contending that the land is gomala land.

The petitioner Mutt, through a trust by name Dharma Chakra Trust, had made a representation for grant of 25 acres of gomala land in survey number 7 in Hosanagara taluk.

The Mutt wanted the land to run several goshalas. Pursuant to this representation, a complaint was registered by the Forest department and the ACF passed an order under Section 64 A (1) of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963 on July 25, 2015. Section 64A provides for eviction of an unauthorized occupant from forest land.

The petitioner challenged the order claiming that the government all along had accepted subject land as a gomala land.

A proclamation order and subsequent gazette notification, issued on March 28, 2005, declared 160 acres of land as reserved forest, which excluded 60 acres of gomala land.

The counsel for the Mutt contended that the proclamation order and the notification were not challenged and hence, attained
finality.

Justice Krishna S Dixit said the deputy commissioner of Shivamogga district had written a letter to the state government on November 21, 2012, subsequent to the Mutt’s representation, stating that the land was a gomala land.

“The subject land shall be retained as gomala land for the benefit of the cattle of the petitioner - Mutt and other agriculturists/farmers; if entries in the revenue records are changed pursuant to impugned order, the same shall be restored as they were before, within an outer limit of two months from the date a copy of this judgment is handed over to the jurisdictional tahsildar,” the court said.

It directed the respondents to consider the representation for the allotment in accordance with law and inform the result of such consideration within six
months.