More than 2,482 acres of forest land, valued at nearly Rs 7,000 crore, has been encroached upon in and around Bengaluru, said forest minister C.P. Yogeshwar, adding that the government has identified as many as 600 encroachers including politicians, swamijis, MNCs, government bodies and officers.
Replying to a question raised during Question Hour in the Council, Mr Yogeshwar said encroachment was rampant across all taluks and forest ranges around Bengaluru. “The SC directive is clear and our task force will ensure all encroachers are evicted. We are focusing on strengthening the legal department as there are lakhs of cases pertaining to forest land. We hope to bring out an ordinance as well as book cases under Section 64-A of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963”, he said.
Council member R.V. Venkatesh hoped the government will bring out an ordinance to evict encroachers Mr while Basavaraj Horatti felt the estimated value of the encroached land was nearly Rs 15,000 crore and demanded speedy and stringent action. Interestingly, 1,338 acres have been encroached upon by 441 people in Bengaluru Urban district and 1,144 acres by 155 people in Bengaluru Rural district. A total of 288 court cases are at different stages of inquiry, the minister said.
Interestingly, the list of encroachers includes KIADB in Kadugodi, BDA commissioner in Uttarahalli and Hemmigepura, Onkar Shivapuri Swamiji in B.M. Kaval (Anepalya), Jagadguru Balagangadhara Swamiji Education Institute in Kengeri and Jai Karnataka Sahadevapura Vidhana Sabha Kshetra Pradhana Kacheri in Kadugodi.