Precious forest land in Tumakuru de-reserved, miners to benefit
Ambarish B, March 18, 2016, Bengaluru, DHNS
323 ha declared revenue land, based on order passed by top official in 2015
At a time when efforts to retain the forest land in Karnataka are becoming strenuous, the Forest Department has lost yet another vast area of its land in Chikkanayakanahalli, Tumakuru district.
As many as 323.88 hectares of reserved forest land as been declared revenue land through an order passed by the then Additional Chief Secretary of Department of Forests, Ecology and Environment, M Madan Gopal, on December 21, 2015.
Gopal passed the order a few days before his retirement, declaring as invalid the 1994 government notification that bracketed the land as forest land. The order invariably regularised at least nine major mining companies operating in this area.
The notification under section 4 of the Karnataka Forest Act was issued on August 4, 1994, proposing to declare land in Janeru (Jaaneharu village) of Chikkanayakanahalli taluk reserved forest. The notification declaring the extent of 323.88 hectares in survey numbers 41, 42, 43 as reserved forest was published in the gazette on October 31, 1996.
In a subsequent development, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) formed by the Supreme Court stated in its February 2012 report that there were apparent mistakes in the 1996 notification. The Supreme Court then gave an interim order, directing the government to issue the corrigendum to correct the “typographical errors”, as submitted by the department. Subsequently, a corrigendum was issued in September 2014, which included 37 new survey numbers with an area of 1,545.04 hectares as reserved forest.
Aggrieved by the corrigendum, the mining companies approached the High Court which passed orders in September and October 2015, directing the Forest Department to hear the representation of the miners on the objections to the corrigendum.
The companies moved the appellate authority (Additional Chief Secretary) and argued that the 1996 notification itself was invalid since the government had passed an order way back in 1991 with instructions that the land in survey numbers 41, 42, 43 was in C&D category, meaning it was under the Revenue Department. They also contended that the Forest Settlement Officer had submitted a report in 2006, stating that it was not forest land.
Based on this submission, Gopal stated, “The corrigendum dated September 2014 is set aside. Similarly, (the) notification issued earlier dated August 1994 is declared invalid in view of the report of the Forest Settlement Officer and earlier Government Orders issued from (the) revenue department from time to time.”
A senior official in the Forest Department said on the condition of anonymity, “The Government Orders quoted by the advocates representing the companies were not speaking orders or notifications. Unfortunately, the Forest Department did not engage any advocates to argue its case. The classification of C&D land was done by the Agriculture Department. The land in question was district forest earlier and there was no order de-reserving this land.”
NGO urges govt to revoke order
Samaj Parivartana Samudaya, the NGO which has petitioned the Supreme Court in the illegal mining case, said it would appeal the order that de-reserved the forest land.
“The companies had only challenged the corrigendum before the High Court. The corrigendum was issued on the Supreme Court’s direction. Strangely, the companies challenged the 1996 notification itself. The order will result in a huge loss to the exchequer and of the forest land cover. We will first appeal to the government to review the order. We will move the court if no action is taken,” said the NGO’s board member, Deepak C N.
As many as 323.88 hectares of reserved forest land as been declared revenue land through an order passed by the then Additional Chief Secretary of Department of Forests, Ecology and Environment, M Madan Gopal, on December 21, 2015.
Gopal passed the order a few days before his retirement, declaring as invalid the 1994 government notification that bracketed the land as forest land. The order invariably regularised at least nine major mining companies operating in this area.
The notification under section 4 of the Karnataka Forest Act was issued on August 4, 1994, proposing to declare land in Janeru (Jaaneharu village) of Chikkanayakanahalli taluk reserved forest. The notification declaring the extent of 323.88 hectares in survey numbers 41, 42, 43 as reserved forest was published in the gazette on October 31, 1996.
In a subsequent development, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) formed by the Supreme Court stated in its February 2012 report that there were apparent mistakes in the 1996 notification. The Supreme Court then gave an interim order, directing the government to issue the corrigendum to correct the “typographical errors”, as submitted by the department. Subsequently, a corrigendum was issued in September 2014, which included 37 new survey numbers with an area of 1,545.04 hectares as reserved forest.
Aggrieved by the corrigendum, the mining companies approached the High Court which passed orders in September and October 2015, directing the Forest Department to hear the representation of the miners on the objections to the corrigendum.
The companies moved the appellate authority (Additional Chief Secretary) and argued that the 1996 notification itself was invalid since the government had passed an order way back in 1991 with instructions that the land in survey numbers 41, 42, 43 was in C&D category, meaning it was under the Revenue Department. They also contended that the Forest Settlement Officer had submitted a report in 2006, stating that it was not forest land.
Based on this submission, Gopal stated, “The corrigendum dated September 2014 is set aside. Similarly, (the) notification issued earlier dated August 1994 is declared invalid in view of the report of the Forest Settlement Officer and earlier Government Orders issued from (the) revenue department from time to time.”
A senior official in the Forest Department said on the condition of anonymity, “The Government Orders quoted by the advocates representing the companies were not speaking orders or notifications. Unfortunately, the Forest Department did not engage any advocates to argue its case. The classification of C&D land was done by the Agriculture Department. The land in question was district forest earlier and there was no order de-reserving this land.”
NGO urges govt to revoke order
Samaj Parivartana Samudaya, the NGO which has petitioned the Supreme Court in the illegal mining case, said it would appeal the order that de-reserved the forest land.
“The companies had only challenged the corrigendum before the High Court. The corrigendum was issued on the Supreme Court’s direction. Strangely, the companies challenged the 1996 notification itself. The order will result in a huge loss to the exchequer and of the forest land cover. We will first appeal to the government to review the order. We will move the court if no action is taken,” said the NGO’s board member, Deepak C N.
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