BANGALORE: The state government which has claimed that it has powerful laws and will to protect its natural resources in defending..
BANGALORE: The state government which has claimed that it has powerful laws and will to protect its natural resources in defending its opposition for nomination of ten natural sites in Western Ghat to get the prestigious UNESCO world heritage tag come a cropper as over 8,000 acres of forest land leased to stateowned Karnataka State Forest Development Corporation to develop pulpwood plantation was found missing in its inventory.
The fact of missing over 3,360.91 hectares of land leased over to KSFDC came to light during a meeting of the Karnataka Legislature Committee on Public Undertakings recently. As per the action plans for the period between 19902009. the KSFDC had possessed about 86,640.63 hectares at the end of March 2006 in Bangalore and Shimoga zone.
Meanwhile, the company had returned 33,118.43 acres to the Forest Department citing nonusable and waste land. Officials however, have clarified that the discrepancy in the data available with the corporation was common, as transfer and retransfer of forest land between the government, KSFDC and Forest Department was an ongoing process. According to documents, the copy of which is available with the Express, revealed that the state government had transferred over 86,640.63 hectares to stateowned KSFDC for the purpose of raising pulpwood, bamboo tending and other plantations in Shimoga and Bangalore forest zone.KSFDC which had received the land from the forest department earlier to develop Tamarind plantations in the village was in favor of returning the land despite obtaining injection order from the court of law restraining the people indulging in encroachment.Original news source
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