In a significant move to protect its natural heritage, the Forest Department in Chikkamagaluru district has formally registered two cases concerning the illegal encroachment of a massive 580 acres of precious forest land within the Balehonnur Range.
One of the cases targets three individuals from Kalasa—S.B. Shankar, S.B. Prabhakar, and Sunitha—accused of illegally seizing 450 acres of the Halasur Reserved Forest in Kalasa taluk. The complaint, filed by the Balehonnur Range Forest Officer on October 24, details their alleged occupation of forest land located across survey number 36 in Thanodi village.
The second case involves six residents of Balehonnur—Mohamed Ifthikar Adil, Mohammed Iliyas, Abdul Vahid, Adul Munaf, Abdul Gafar, and Mohammed Ibrahim. They face charges for encroaching upon 130 acres of the Bannur minor forest, specifically land located in survey numbers 9 of B. Kanabur village and 95, 96, and 97 of Bannur village in N.R. Pura taluk.
Lack of Clear Documentation Fuels Disputes
While these encroachments were recently brought to light, they aren’t new occurrences. E. Shivashankar, Deputy Conservator of Forests for Koppa Division, explained that the illegal occupation of Halasur forest in Kalasa taluk became apparent during a thorough document verification process. He stated, “This land was officially designated as forest land a long time ago. Although applications were submitted for land grants, purportedly for coffee cultivation, with claims of possession prior to its forest notification, no adequate records existed to substantiate these assertions. This absence of proof led us to register the case.”
Shivashankar also referenced an earlier 10-acre encroachment case in N.R. Pura taluk, where subsequent investigations revealed that members of the same family had unlawfully taken over a combined total of 130 acres. “We have filed the necessary case,” he affirmed, “and we will proceed with a detailed inquiry into the encroachment to determine the appropriate course of action.”
The forest officials have invoked stringent measures, filing these cases under multiple sections of both the Karnataka Forest Act of 1963 and the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. The comprehensive charges include unauthorized occupation, causing damage to the forest ecosystem, tampering with official boundary markers, and diverting forest land for non-forest activities.