<p>The prospect of Bengaluru losing 517 acres of pristine reserved forest in south Kengeri is alarming, not just because of its staggering commercial value (estimated at between Rs 27,000 crore and Rs 35,000 crore), but also because of what it reveals about the gaps in administrative vigilance.</p><p> A writ petition filed by one M B Nemana Gowda on August 13 was disposed of within just 17 days by the Karnataka High Court, culminating in an order directing the revenue authorities to enter his name in the records. The area in question has mostly been part of the Badamanavarte Kaval State Forest since 1935. That the forest department learnt of this only two days before the deadline to appeal is deeply troubling. </p><p>From the facts of the case, it appears that the government’s own legal machinery has clearly failed the state. The additional advocate general has admitted he could not verify the contents of the petition before the matter was disposed of. His initial view that it was not a fit case for appeal, later reversed, only reinforces the impression of inadequate preparation and poor coordination. When forest land of such ecological and financial significance is at stake, a slipshod response is simply unacceptable.</p>.<p>Equally concerning is the role of the revenue department. This is not the first time that it has worked at cross-purposes with the forest department, enabling vested interests to encroach on protected land. The pattern is depressingly familiar: questionable documents, claims under old Inam Abolition provisions, unexplained mutations, and sudden entries in records surfacing after decades. The Chikkamagaluru and Hassan cases involving the same petitioner may be unrelated to the Bengaluru claim, but they underscore a broader propensity for exploiting administrative loopholes.</p>.<p>This only suggests that the system is being gamed from within. Law Minister H K Patil, Revenue Minister C Krishna Byregowda and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre must take this episode seriously. </p><p>The state should constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine how such a massive tract of reserved forest became vulnerable to a private claim, and that too without the knowledge of the very department entrusted with protecting it. For now, the government must urgently move the High Court, seeking a stay on the order, and ensure that the appeal is filed without delay. </p><p>The loss of 517 acres of forest would be irreparable— ecologically, legally and morally. The state cannot afford to let administrative lethargy and internal collusion carve away its natural assets. This case must become a turning point, not another chapter in the long saga of Karnataka’s vanishing forests.</p>
<p>The prospect of Bengaluru losing 517 acres of pristine reserved forest in south Kengeri is alarming, not just because of its staggering commercial value (estimated at between Rs 27,000 crore and Rs 35,000 crore), but also because of what it reveals about the gaps in administrative vigilance.</p><p> A writ petition filed by one M B Nemana Gowda on August 13 was disposed of within just 17 days by the Karnataka High Court, culminating in an order directing the revenue authorities to enter his name in the records. The area in question has mostly been part of the Badamanavarte Kaval State Forest since 1935. That the forest department learnt of this only two days before the deadline to appeal is deeply troubling. </p><p>From the facts of the case, it appears that the government’s own legal machinery has clearly failed the state. The additional advocate general has admitted he could not verify the contents of the petition before the matter was disposed of. His initial view that it was not a fit case for appeal, later reversed, only reinforces the impression of inadequate preparation and poor coordination. When forest land of such ecological and financial significance is at stake, a slipshod response is simply unacceptable.</p>.<p>Equally concerning is the role of the revenue department. This is not the first time that it has worked at cross-purposes with the forest department, enabling vested interests to encroach on protected land. The pattern is depressingly familiar: questionable documents, claims under old Inam Abolition provisions, unexplained mutations, and sudden entries in records surfacing after decades. The Chikkamagaluru and Hassan cases involving the same petitioner may be unrelated to the Bengaluru claim, but they underscore a broader propensity for exploiting administrative loopholes.</p>.<p>This only suggests that the system is being gamed from within. Law Minister H K Patil, Revenue Minister C Krishna Byregowda and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre must take this episode seriously. </p><p>The state should constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine how such a massive tract of reserved forest became vulnerable to a private claim, and that too without the knowledge of the very department entrusted with protecting it. For now, the government must urgently move the High Court, seeking a stay on the order, and ensure that the appeal is filed without delay. </p><p>The loss of 517 acres of forest would be irreparable— ecologically, legally and morally. The state cannot afford to let administrative lethargy and internal collusion carve away its natural assets. This case must become a turning point, not another chapter in the long saga of Karnataka’s vanishing forests.</p>
