6.64 lakh hectares to be dropped from deemed forest classification, says forest minister

The state government has decided to drop 6.64 lakh hectares out of 9.90 lakh hectares of land from deemed forest classification and will hand over the land to the revenue department, said Forest Minister Umesh Katti.

Speaking after laying the foundation for Smriti Vana at Neelavara, he said with the dropping of the land from deemed forest classification, the row over the deemed forest will be solved.

All the obstacles from the forest department are cleared. People in the area who previously lived in a designated deemed forest area will now have rights to take development, he added.

To a query on Operation Kamala, the minister said that people who accept the BJP's ideologies are always welcome to the party. The BJP's popularity is high. As a result, it is not surprising that people want to join the party.

He however declined to comment on Basanagouda Patil Yatnal's statement that some people from New Delhi had come to him with an offer to make him the chief minister if he paid Rs 2,500 crore.

The BJP-led government has already initiated an investigation into the PSI recruitment scam. Congress is on the verge of becoming extinct. Congress leaders D K Shivkumar and Siddaramaiah will remain unemployed politicians, while the BJP will come back to power in the state, he said.

The BJP is strong in the Mysuru area unlike in the past wherein 90 Assembly constituencies in the area were always dominated by Congress and JD(S). The BJP will win at least 150 seats in the next Assembly election, he added.

Katti clarified that he is not running for the post of chief minister, in spite of being capable.

Demand for separate statehood

The forest minister said that he was firm on the demand for separate statehood for North Karnataka in the past when there was a lot of discrimination meted out on the basis of region.

"I never said that I wanted to be the CM of a new state. With Basavaraj Bommai as CM, there is no regional discrimination. He is treating all parts of the state equally. If at all any injustice is meted out to the North Karnataka region and its people, I will not hesitate to raise my voice again for separate statehood," the minister added.