Bengaluru’s declared forest area is highly exaggerated, with roughly 3,400 acres existing only in official documents, according to an analysis by Deccan Herald. Many lands, originally marked as forests more than a century ago, have been engulfed by urban sprawl, but this transformation is not recorded in the government’s files. Successive administrations have continued to classify these areas as “notified reserved forests,” even though they have been replaced by buildings and roads.
Some experts suggest that revising these records would present a clearer picture of Bengaluru’s real green space. Historical records show that extensive plots of land around the city were set aside by the Wodeyars, former rulers of Mysuru, for conservation purposes. However, subsequent governments have either released these areas for development without the proper legal process or declassified them improperly. Still, the official documents continue to list them as forest reserves.
These “fictional forests” account for at least 27% of the officially recognized forested land, and some officials believe the true number may reach 40%. One example is the 537-acre Malgal Valley, designated as forest land in 1921, now part of Bengaluru’s expanding urban areas. Similarly, the 160-acre Gantiganahalli land is still officially listed as a forest, despite being developed, though it lacks formal declassification.
Experts warn that the total extent of such errors could be even higher, highlighting the need to update official records.
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