Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday directed the Deputy Commissioner of Gadag to consider a representation given by two petitioners who opposed the move to declare the Kappatagudda Reserve Forest as a conservation reserve, before sending his inputs to the Wildlife Board.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Budihal R.B. passed the order while disposing of a public interest litigation petition, filed by Venkatesh Dasar and another person, both residents of Gadag.
Earlier, State Advocate-General Madhusoodan R. Naik opposed the petition while pointing out that the petitioners, who are representatives of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, had already submitted their representation wherein they had claimed that industrial projects would be affected, and their representation was considered by the authority concerned. On the allegation that there was no sufficient publicity on the public consultation held in January, the A-G pointed out that sufficient publicity was given for the consultation meeting and opinions were sought from gram panchayats, which had passed resolution demanding that the area be notified as a conservation reserve in public interest.
