Joint survey report of deemed forests to be submitted to SC: Rai

A joint survey of the deemed forest areas being conducted by the Forest and the Revenue departments has been completed and would be submitted to the Supreme Court soon, Forest Minister B Ramanath Rai said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Rai said the move would help in clearing the confusion over encroachment of forest land. The survey findings are being scrutinised by senior officials before the report is submitted to the Apex court, he added. He said the government had submitted its responses to the Centre on the recommendations made by Kasturirangan Committee on Western Ghat in April itself.

The State has recommended to the Centre to exempt villages and private lands, barring those in the reserved and the protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, from the jurisdiction of the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) under the Kasturirangan report on the conservation of Western Ghats.

Ramanath Rai said the Centre has agreed to sanction the Western Ghats Development Institute to Karnataka. The institute would be set up on 117 acres at Chakra in Shivamogga district. The institute will take up research on the biodiversity and management of the Western Ghats.