Officials and staff from the Forest Department on Monday carrying out a process to recover 110 acres of vacant forest land in Sirsi taluk of Uttara Kannada following a High Court of Karnataka order.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Forest Department on Monday recovered 110 acres of vacant forest land in Sirsi taluk of Uttara Kannada from an expired lease area following the dismissal of a petition challenging the recovery proceedings in the High Court of Karnataka in Dharwad.Deputy Conservator of Forests, Sirsi, Sandip Suryavanshi said that the recovered land was part of 389.07 acres leased to the Kamadhenu Co-operative Dairy and Fruit Processing Society Ltd., Golokatta, whose petition has been dismissed by the High Court.“This is one of the biggest land recoveries in the Western Ghats and Kanara Circle,” he said.On Monday, the officials who went for the recovery of the land faced some resistance from the local residents who were apprehensive of losing their land.“Along with farmers who were cultivating seasonal crops on small land holdings, farmers who cultivated arecanut and others gathered near the land and opposed the land recovery process as they were apprehensive of being evicted from the land,” Mr. Suryavanshi told The Hindu.The forest officials and the police managed to convince them subsequently, after which the recovery process was initiated.The recovered land is being restored through the planting of native species and soil and moisture conservation works, Mr. Suryavanshi said.On the recovery of the remaining forest land, he said that as the farmers have grown seasonal crops, the land will be recovered after they harvest them.Another process will be initiated for the recovery of large land holdings where arecanut and other crops have been cultivated.The recovery follows the High Court’s dismissal of the society’s petition challenging the Forest Department’s proceedings under Section 64-A of the Karnataka Forest Act 1963.Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum, in an order on August 12, held that the society has no subsisting legal right to remain in possession of the land after the expiry of its government lease. The court also held that the authorities have followed due process before ordering eviction.The land was leased to the society under a Government Order issued on December 2, 1969. The State government subsequently reduced the lease period from 30 years to 20 years through an order issued in February 1976. The lease consequently expired on December 1, 1989. Despite the expiry of lease, the society was in possession of the lease land and the matter reached the High Court of Karnataka.Dismissing the society’s petition, the High Court directed the forest officials to follow the due process for eviction. Published - August 24, 2026 07:43 pm IST
