Karnataka plans joint Forest-Revenue Department survey of land

revenue and forest departments in Karnataka have decided to conduct a joint survey in next three months to allay fear of eviction faced by forest dwellers in state for over four deces.

Supreme Court's verdict on issue of forest dwellers has caused concern among thousands of people in state. government has decided to find a solution to this problem. state government h launched a similar initiative in 2015, but re has been no progress in that regard. Now a solution is being devised to de-reserve  forest.

None of previous governments has attempted to conduct a joint survey.

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has convened a meeting with officials of department and held a joint meeting with Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, and officials of department have taken a call on survey.

Speaking exclusively to Republic, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said, "I personally want survey to be completed by 3 months, but officials have stated that it will take 6 months. I want survey to be completed as soon as possible. problems of tribals should be resolved, and that is our main aim. We want to conserve our forests and wildlife. Our objective is two-fold: one is to give social justice to tribals by rehabilitating m and providing facilities required. On or hand, some of m, in name of tribals, are encroaching on forest land, and y will be punished. Forest lands will be taken back by removing encroachments. We will also protect livelihood of tribals. re are some lands that are available for rehabilitation of tribals, but without ir consent, we will not relocate m. re will be zero tolerance for illegal encroachments.

Karnataka Forest Land

An area of 33,23,854.98 hectares has been declared a notified forest area in state, of which 29,55,022.37 hectares are reserved forest. Devaraku, Sandalwood, and Teak Reserves include small and protected forest areas. A total of 43,35,694.80 hectares of various forest land in various forest lands are used in Jammabani, Bane, Kumki, Amrit Mahal Kaval, Betta Land, Kharab, areas submerged near rivers and backwater lands, forest inam land, Gomala, forest areas with thick trees, and construction and demolition (C&D) land without any vegetation, expert committee said in its report.

Where will survey begin?

re is a problem in most of districts. However, problem is serious in Ramanagara, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, and Kodagu districts. So first, a joint survey will be conducted re. Wherever forest area is less than 10%, it will be handed over to revenue department. deputy commissioner of revenue department and DFOs of forest department have been given responsibility for survey.

Deemed forest

Out of 9.94 lakh acres of deemed forest in state, 6.64 lakh acres are yet to be removed. Only 3.30 lakh acres will remain deemed forest. 6.64 acres of deemed forest will go to revenue department. On January 10, 1997, government constituted an expert committee in wake of Supreme Court's February 12, 1996, order to submit a report on what constitutes a deemed forest. committee submitted its report on April 2, 1997.

5 lakh families to be relocated?

Ravindra, a community expert speaking to Republic, said, "Nearly 5 lakh ivasi families in state are in fear of being lifted out of forest due to Supreme Court order. Ever since Forest Rights Act, 2012, when rules were framed, tribals have suffered to a large extent because y have not been given same amount of publicity as y should have been about applying for regularisation."

Venkatesh, an outreach expert from NGO Parisara, says, "Karnataka ranks 18th in implementation of Forest Rights Act." According to Forest Rights Act, number of applicants is around 2.26 lakh. government has given consent to only 12,000 of m. total ivasi population is estimated to be 11.50 lakh. ding on, he said, " implementation of Forest Rights Act has been good only in Tripura. government went door-to-door, collecting documents and regularising m. In Odisha, too, some degree of implementation is good. Almost all or states have shown negligence."

Background

Forest Act came into force in 1980. According to it, no one can live within forest's limits. In 1982, C and D-category land was also mentioned as forest in order to increase forest cover. Only if re are 50 trees per hectare should it be considered a forest. More than 5 lakh families live in about 6 lakh hectares of forest-named areas in state. y have been in fear of eviction ever since. In many places, re are villages and large inhabited areas. 

Arrangements have been me for schools, hospitals, anganwi buildings, temples, religious centres, and drinking water. problem is that even if re is no forest, it is recorded as one in records of revenue department.

Solution to problem

Through a joint survey, a solution has to be worked out and brought to attention of Central government, Supreme Court, and de-reserve. re are no records, even if re is a settlement. So y are facing problem of not being able to mortgage, borrow, or sell. Such a problem needs to be solved.