Bengaluru: Around 2,284.2 acres of forest land in the Bengaluru division is under encroachment, prompting the Forest Department and the government to take action against 700 illegal occupants. According to official data, Bengaluru division has five zones; Bengaluru, Yelahanka, KR Puram, Kaggalipura, and Anekal.
According to sources, Kaggalipura has the most encroachments, followed by KR Puram and Anekal. As a result, Kaggalipura has the highest number of cases. According to the forest department, efforts are being made to reclaim all of the land. The cases have been filed under the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, Section 64. All 65 cases involving 45 acres in the Bengaluru zone were encroached upon in 2016. In some other zones, encroachment cases date back to 2002-03.
The majority of the cases happened in the 2006, 2007, and 2008. Only a few cases occur in the last three years. The Bengaluru division has a total of 6,871 hectares (16,971 acres) of forest land. Over 13.5 per cent of total forest land has been encroached upon. According to sources, 109.5 acres of land have been diverted for various BWSSB, BDA, and BMRCL projects. The area has been diverted for a variety of projects, including the creation of an Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute, the provision of right-of-way for telecom service providers, and the building of a hi-tech nursery.
