Only 13 percent of encroached forests recovered in ten years in Karnataka: Report
Hubballi: The Karnataka Forest Department has made little progress in recovering encroached forest land, managing to reclaim only 13.6 percent of the total encroached area over the last decade.
From 2014-15 to 2024-25 (March), the department resolved 7,621 cases and recovered just 31,317 acres of forest land, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday.
Data cited by DH shows that nearly 2.30 lakh acres of forest land in the state were encroached upon by August 2024, with the department having filed 1.19 lakh cases against the encroachers. However, the process of clearing encroached land has been slow, primarily due to the legal procedures involved and delays in joint surveys conducted by the revenue and forest departments. The process is further delayed due to appeals by the litigants in higher courts.
In the past two years alone, the department has managed to recover just 5,113 acres of land. Environmental activist Girish D. V. from Chikkamagaluru, speaking to DH, criticised the Forest Department's handling of the issue, stating that the recovery of encroached land often happens only when directed by courts. "Forget about clearing legacy encroachments, the department is unable to prevent fresh ones. Every day, the state is losing forest land," he remarked.
An interim annual report from the Forest Department (2024) highlighted that between March and December 2024, 900 new cases of forest land encroachment were registered. Girish also pointed out that a lack of political will to clear encroachments has limited the department’s ability to prevent new ones.
Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre acknowledged the slow pace of recovery, attributing it to legal obstacles, multiple claim documents, and the livelihoods of marginal farmers. He told the news outlet that the state government was using technology, including satellite surveys, to curb new encroachments.
Khandre further emphasised that the state government has "zero tolerance" toward forest encroachments and they would go after influential persons to recover forest land. He added that they are fighting to recover leased forest land from private parties and restore it as forest land.
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SC cancels bail to wrestler Sushil Kumar in murder case, orders surrender in a week
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled bail to Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar in the murder case of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar at the Chhatrasal Stadium in the national capital.
A bench of justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra set aside the March 4 order of the Delhi High Court granting bail to the wrestler.
The wrestler has been asked to surrender within a week.
The top court's order came on an appeal filed by Ashok Dhankar, father of Sagar Dhankar, challenging the order passed by the Delhi High Court granting bail to Kumar.
Kumar and others are accused of fatally assaulting Sagar Dhankar in May 2021 over an alleged property dispute.
Two of Sagar Dhankar's friends were also injured in the assault.
According to the postmortem report, the victim suffered cerebral damage from the impact of a blunt object.
Kumar was arrested in May 2021 and a sessions court had granted him a week's interim bail for his knee surgery on July 19, 2023.
The trial court in October 2022 framed IPC charges, including murder, criminal conspiracy, intimidation and rioting with a deadly weapon against Kumar aside from the Arms Act, among others.
The trial court noted that after being abducted and brought to the stadium, Sagar Dhankar was severely assaulted by several accused persons with baseball and hockey sticks.
