Include left-out reserve forest in Kappatagudda sanctuary: Karnataka HC tells govt

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to issue a notification by including the left-out areas of the Kappatagudda Reserve Forest as part of the Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) in Gadag district in terms with the resolution passed at the 11th meeting of the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife on January 9, 2019.

“Once the Board has taken a decision to declare the entire area of the reserve forest as KW Sanctuary and the State Government has acted upon the decision, in the absence of any reasoned decision restricting the area of the KW Sanctuary, the impugned notification confining the area of the KW Sanctuary contrary to the Board’s decision, is ex facie arbitrary,” a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha said while dismissing the petitions filed by Shivaganga Stone Crushing Industries and others.

The bench further said, “However, we clarify that if the State is of the view that it is necessary or expedient to exclude a part of the area from the boundaries of the KW Sanctuary, this order will not preclude the state Government to take a decision for altering the boundaries of the KW Sanctuary (which includes the left out portions of the reserve forest), albeit in accordance with the law.”

Stone crushing industries

The petitioners held licences to operate stone crushing industries on lands located in the immediate vicinity of the 4th block of the Kappatagudda Reserve Forest. They challenged the May 16, 2019, notification, declaring the area measuring 244.15 sq. km. (24415.73 hectares), excluding enclosures, revenue villages, patta lands and revenue lands as on the date of publication of the notification, in Gadag, Mundaragi and Shirahatti Taluks of Gadag District as KWS.

The bench was informed that in January 9, 2019 resolution passed by the Board, the entire 300 sq kms of the reserve forest had been declared as a KWS. The bench noted that the petitioners’ units fall within Eco-Sensitive Zone as notified under the June 4, 2025 and their stone crushing units cannot be permitted to operate.

However, while no relief was sought in respect of the left-out portions of the Kappatagudda forests in the KWS, the bench had invited the counsel to advance submissions in this regard. G S Kannur, senior counsel appearing for the petitioners, contended that it has been done to benefit a few units which are owned by influential persons.

In response, the Additional Advocate General submitted that no document was available regarding any decision to reduce the area of the sanctuary and that there is neither any decision nor any file which contains any information as to why the notification confined the sanctuary to an area of 244.15 sq. kms.

The bench pointed out that the Board had, as early as in its third meeting held on August 11, 2010, considered the proposal for declaring approximately 300 sq. kms. of the Kappatagudda forest area as a sanctuary.

“Inexplicably, some parts of the Kappatagudda reserve forest are excluded from the area of the KW Sanctuary. There is no ambiguity in the resolution dated 09.01.2019 passed by the Board, where the entire 300 sq kms of the reserve forest is declared as a wildlife sanctuary. It is affirmed on behalf of the State that the impugned notification was issued pursuant to the decision of the eleventh meeting of the Board under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister. However, the impugned notification declares the only area of 24415.73 hectares (244.15 sq. kms.) as KW Sanctuary. This raises a question as to why approximately 55 sq kms of reserve forest was not declared as a wildlife sanctuary,” the bench said.