34,918.29 hectares of land to be dropped from deemed forest classification

In the midst of the Karnataka government's request to declassify 6.64 lakh hectares of the state's 9.94 lakh hectares of land considered deemed forests (almost 67%) and give it over to the revenue department, nearly 34,918.29 hectares of land out of 68,794.76 hectares will be dropped from deemed forest classification in Udupi district.

Former Zilla Panchayat member Prathap Hegde Marali told DH that the issue arose after 1995 when the Supreme Court insisted on expanding the forest cover. As a result, when specified forest areas were sought, the respective district administration provided information on all accessible government land. However, because the regulations were lax, the heat did not arrive until 2004-05.

Until then, many people had legalised their property under Akrama-Sakrama and were cultivating it. The government began placing limitations on land development post-2004-05, he said.

It was also impossible to authorise land rights under Sections 94C and 94CC. Later, the government initiated the partly deemed forest area effort. So that landowners can be guaranteed their rights. However, the property regarded to be government land, which was defined as a partially recognised forest region, consisted solely of roads, schools, hospitals, Anganawadis and panchayat offices in rural areas, he said.

Harish Poojary, a farmer, whose ancestors had resided on four acres and have been associated with it for 200 years, laments the fact that he has no prospects for the land he is now cultivating or the house he is building. His family has a strong emotional attachment to the land.

Sudhakar Shetty, a farmer in Brahmavara's Nalkuru village, said that he and his family had been farming four acres of land for the past 30 years. With two to three growths every year, the field has grown fruitful.

“Uncertainty hangs over our heads because we don't know when the government will claim the right to the land and force us to leave,” he added.

Farmer Srinivas Manja Meeyaru has similar views, owing to the fact that he and his predecessors have been farming the three acres of land for many years. However, they have no possibility of acquiring the rights.

He says that it feels like they're growing someone else's land.

According to Ashish Reddy, Deputy Conservator of Forests for Kundapur Division, the government stated that out of the total notified 68,794.76 hectares of deemed forest area previously, the reconsideration of the prescribed forest land has enabled the declassification of a total of 34,918.29 hectares of land out of the purview of deemed forest area and will be handed over to the revenue department. Only 33,877.92 hectares of land will be kept as the district's deemed forest.

In Kundapur, declassification is suggested for 23,339.26 hectares of land out of 39,918.06 hectares in the considered forest zone. The considered forest area will remain 16,578.86 hectares in size.

In Karkala, out of 13,882.55 hectares of designated forest land, 4,521.37 hectares are being evaluated for declassification.

In Udupi, declassification is suggested for 7,057.66 hectares out of 14,994.15 hectares of deemed forest area.