BENGALURU: At least 2,284.2 acres of forest land in Bengaluru division is under encroachment, prompting the forest department and the government to book over 700 cases against illegal occupants.
According to official data, Bengaluru division has five zones -- Bengaluru, Yelahanka, KR Puram, Kaggalipura, and Anekal. Most encroachments have happened in Kaggalipura, followed by KR Puram and Anekal (see graphic).
As a result, the maximum number of cases are in Kaggalipura. Cases have been booked under section 64 of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963 and efforts are on to reclaim all the land, the forest department said.
While all 65 cases involving 45 acres in Bengaluru zone were encroached upon in 2016, in some other zones there are encroachments dating back to 2002-03.
A majority of them took place in 2006, followed by 2007 and 2008. There are a handful of cases in the last three years.
According to forest officials, Bengaluru division has 6,871 hectares of forest land, which amounts to 16,971 acres. This means around 13.5% of the total forest land is encroached upon. Separate data from the department shows that 109.5 acres have been diverted for various projects, including ones of BWSSB, BDA, and BMRCL. Some of the other projects for which land has been diverted are the creation of a hi-tech nursery, provision of right of way for telecom service providers, and setting up the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute.
