Govt to amend Revenue Act to prevent harassment of forest dwellers

NT Correspondent

The state government proposes to bring an amendment to the existing Revenue Act to stop considering encroachment of land in the fringes of forests as land grab and to stop trying such cases in the special land grab court, informed Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy.

A call attention motion was moved by Gadag MLA H.K.Patil during zero hour in the Assembly on Tuesday, about the forceful eviction of some persons in Mundargi taluk of Gadag district on charges of grabbing forest land for agriculture purposes and a woman ending her life by consuming poison as a mark of protest.

He suggested that the government constitute a House Committee to visit the spot and prepare a report. Despite the government issuing a circular against eviction of such poor people if the encroachment was less than three acres, the officials are overdoing it, he said. Srinivasapura MLA Ramesh Kumar informed the House that a person has been jailed for encroaching six guntas of land and a Scheduled Caste woman had been booked for encroaching on a 30 feet X 40 feet site.

The existing rules allow regularization in such cases, he said. Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri said forest officials have cut the standing trees of coconut and areca under the pretext of forest land encroachment. Besides, eviction, cases are filed in the special land grab court in Bengaluru. The dwellers have to come all the way to Bengaluru to attend cases.

Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah opined that forest officials are harassing farmers living in the fringes of forests. The Act allows encroachment up to three acres of forest land under Traditional Forest Rights and it must not be considered as land grab and tried under the Revenue Act, he said.

Other members slammed the government for keeping quiet by not doing against land sharks in cities but targeting small and hapless forest dwellers. Madhuswamy announced that the act would be amended to stop booking of land grab cases against farmers for encroachment of forest land for agricultural purposes.