2 months ago
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The High Court of Karnataka connected Wednesday ordered the contented of announcement to the Centre and State governments connected a PIL petition challenging the 2015 Government Order (GO) issued by the State directing its authorities not to evict encroachers occupying wood onshore measuring little than 3 acres until further announcement and proposing rehabilitation of encroachers.
A part seat comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha passed the bid connected the petition filed by Jagadeesha, a city-based societal worker.
Under Act
The petitioner has pointed retired that the Central authorities government successful 1996 granted support nether Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, for diversion of 14,848.83 hectares of wood onshore for the constricted intent of regularising encroachments made anterior to April 27, 1978, successful respect of 19,348 cases successful Karnataka taxable to galore conditions. The said support required removal of each encroachments made aft April 27, 1978.
However, the encroachments successful Karnataka continued and the State government, alternatively of taking steps to region encroachments, issued GO connected September 21, 2015, directing the authorities not to evict those encroaching beneath 3 acres of wood onshore till strategy for their rehabilitation is evolved.
The GO of 2015, the petitioner has claimed, has not lone allowed continued concern of encroached wood lands but has besides resulted successful a large-scale misuse arsenic galore encroaching larger areas person artificially divided larger grade of encroached wood onshore among household members to amusement idiosyncratic holdings beneath 3 acres.
No action
Even aft transition of GO 10 years, the State authorities neither rehabilitated those encroaching little less up to 3 acres of wood onshore nor taken steps to evict those encroaching exceeding 3 acres, the petitioner has said portion contending that the GO is contrary to instrumentality arsenic it was issued without anterior support from the Central authorities and contrary to apex tribunal judgements successful T.N. Godavarman’s case.
The petitioner, citing authoritative data, has claimed that wood onshore encroachment successful the State surged from 42,518 acres successful 1995 to 1,65,796 acres by 2014 and by precocious 2015, that fig had reportedly climbed further to 2,04,442 acres.
