Southern States - Karnataka   

NGOs welcome fiat on Tatkola Reserve Forest case

By Our Special Correspondent

DHARWAD Dec. 5 . Several NGOs, including the National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR), the Samaj Parivartana Samudaya, and the Jan Vikas Andolana, have urged the Chief Secretary to take steps on the encroachment of forest lands by the vested interests.

In a statement here on Wednesday, they said the judgment in the Tatkola Reserve Forest Case had a bearing on the environmental issues relating to forest destruction.

The Supreme Court had accepted the report of the Central Empowerment Committee (CEC), they said. The court had treated the report of the Court Commissioner, R.M.N. Sahay, who is the Chief Conservator of Forests in Karnataka, in respect of encroachment as final. Karnataka had been directed to remove all encroachments.

The apex court had made it clear that all encroachers in the Tatkola Forest should be evicted. The State Chief Secretary had been made responsible to ensure the removal of such encroachments, the NGOs said.

The court asked the encroachers to vacate the land by January 31, or pay a fine of Rs. five lakh per hectare a month to the State Government. The Supreme Court had asked the Chief Secretary to file the action taken report on the encroachments and collection of compensation.

"The Supreme Court has put a lid on the forest pilferage and destruction of the national wealth by some people," they said.

It is said that the case has taken over four years since the first order of apex court was passed on July 29, 1998, directing the State Government to indicate the encroachment. The court then passed orders appointing Mr. Sahay as the Commissioner of the apex court to visit the place and submit a report. It also ordered the Survey of India to survey the encroachment.

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