DH Exclusive | Blow to conservation efforts as 60K acres forest land in Karnataka illegally granted

At least 60,725 acres of forest land across Karnataka has been illegally granted by the Revenue Department in violation of laws, dealing a big blow to conservation efforts as change of land use directly affects the ecology and biodiversity of the state.

Documents accessed by DH show that a few of the grants date back to the 1950s while officials said most of the irregularities took place in the last 25 years. As a result, the 13 circles of the Forest Department are staring at a long battle as they have to find documents for each case of illegal mutation.

Over the last two years, chief and deputy conservators of forests have been preparing and updating the records of illegal grants in the wake of the high court and Supreme Court orders to take action to recover forest land.

A summary of reports on illegal grants shows that as of February this year, 60,725.78 acres of land was given to thousands of individuals, many with political connections.

With 25,381.8 acres, Shivamogga circle has lost the highest extent of forests. It is followed by Kalaburagi (10,748.44), Dharwad (5,871.88), Bengaluru (5,845.28) and Kanara (5,123.78). Illegal grants are different from the larger issue of encroachment.

The grants violate the provisions of the Karnataka Forest Act as well as the Karnataka Land Revenue Act and are made without consulting the forest officials, despite court orders mandating the same. They tend to legalise encroachments.

Officials in the Revenue Department have been caught making arbitrary decisions on land, with a tahsildar even losing the job. In April, the chief secretary of Karnataka had ordered action against the deputy commissioner of Chitradurga who illegally changed the status of over 251 acres of forest into revenue land, allowing the lush green area to be exploited for mining.

Root of the problem

To a question, a deputy conservator of forests said most of the illegalities have taken place in forests where the Revenue Department has failed to make the necessary entries in the records.

“This has been an issue pending for years. Though the area has been declared and notified as forest, the revenue officials have failed to make the necessary mutation. As a result, 11.01 lakh acres of forest land stands exposed to encroachment and illegal grants,” an official at the district level said.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Raj Kishore Singh said the department has been working to recover the land.

“Officials at the division level (DCFs) have been told to take up the matter and file an appeal before the assistant commissioner. We are contesting such grants and making efforts to recover the land,” he said, noting that patience and perseverance was required to correct the mistakes which have taken place over a few decades.

The official at the district level said taking up the issue at the Tahsildar and Assistant Commissioner’s office was difficult. “There are times when we have waited for hours just to access the revenue records. Filing a case at the assistant commissioner’s court is an uphill task. As long as the Revenue Department doesn’t cooperate, it is impossible to protect the forests,” he said.

Error deepens man-animal conflict

In Hassan division, a wrong entry in revenue records reduced the extent of Aidahalli Kaval forest from 3,800 to 1,000 acres. The error has led to illegal grant of 700 acres. From 2014, forest officers are struggling to set the records straight fearing destruction of forest will further fuel man-animal conflict. After years, the regional commissioner issued an order for correction. But action is pending.

Hassan Deputy Conservator of Forests Basavaraja K N said action has been initiated as per the orders of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF). "We will move assistant commissioner's office soon seeking cancellation of grants," he said.