BENGALURU: Revenue minister R Ashoka on Monday said the state government will depute a team of experts from Hyderabad based CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) to study and assess a series of earthquakes that occurred in Kodagu and neighbouring Dakshina Kannada district over the past few days.
Though mild, Ashoka said the quakes are a matter of concern not only for the state but locals too. He said the experts will assess the situation and map the region.
“The team will travel to Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts, and specifically study the region which borders the two districts,” Ashoka said. The NGRI team will remain in the region for at least a week.
Ashoka said he and officials from the revenue department will stay with the team for a day, to understand the severity of the quakes. He said administrations in the two districts have already instructed officials to continuously monitor the situation and put in place precautionary measures to shift locals from danger zones to safer locations.
He said the government has already acted on a previous expert committee report, which studied landslides in Kodagu district, and has issued orders to stop commercialisation and indiscriminate cutting of trees in the region.
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As per the report, Ashoka said there are some 750 legal homestays and over 4,000 illegal homestays. He said these will be inspected jointly by forest and revenue departments to bring them under the purview of the law.
Encroachment of govt land
Earlier, Ashoka said the government will introduce an amendment to the Karnataka Land Revenue Act in the winter session, to regularise illegal encroachment of government land
by farmers in Hassan, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru district. He said the land will be given on lease to farmer-encroachers who grow cash crops like coffee, cardamom, and pepper.
The minister said about one lakh acres have been illegally encroached upon in the three districts but pointed out that farmers are tilling the land for their livelihood.
Meanwhile, the minister said up to six lakh hectares of land designated as deemed forests will be released to the revenue department. “This land will be distributed for public use, including the building of schools, hospitals, and other government establishments,” Ashoka said.
