Hyderabad: Encroachers of forest land are getting away with a fine of less than Rs 200 or less than a year in jail or both in the state, which has a large chunk of forest land under illegal occupation.
The state forest department used data from Google Earth maps to establish that large chunks of forest, totalling several hundreds of hectares, have been occupied by encroachers. It is said that 1,000 hectares are encroached ever year.
Google image from the year 2011 and 2017 of the Beat: Kamaram; Section: Mamidiguda, Gangaram Range Guduru (W.L.M) Division: Mahbubabad district RF Block: Chintaguda which has been completely encroached
According to official data, about 2.94 lakh hectares or 10.9 per cent of the total forest cover has been encroached. In districts like Mahbubabad, Khammam, Kothagudem, Jayashankar Bhupalapally and Adilabad, forests in several compartments spread over hundreds of hectares have been wiped out in a short span of time.
Mahbubabad has emerged as the district with the maximum encroachment in the entire country. TS principal chief conservator of forests P.K. Jha said, “With Google mapping, we identified certain areas where forest cover has been cut totally. Guttikoya tribals are coming in large numbers from Chhattisgarh and cutting trees in the middle of the dense forests. There have been several instances of forest officials being beaten up when they tried to evict the encroachers.”
While the organised encroachments in the guise of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 continues to be the biggest culprit, fresh encroachments are said to be the handiwork of local goons and New Democracy, a Left-wing separatist group.
A forest official on condition of anonymity said that certain dalams operating in Mahbubabad, Kothagudem and other areas were threatening forest staff to keep off the encroached land.
“Dalams in the names of Pullanna, Madhu,
Vikram and Linganna are operating in the area. Police is not actively monitoring them as it is alleged that they are part of the network that provides information against Maoists,” the official said. He pointed out that tribals were given up to 90 per cent subsidy by the ITDA and the tribal welfare department to purchase tractors with bulldozers. “They are buying the equipment and pulling down trees resulting in a huge loss of green cover,” he said. The cleared land is used for cultivation.
As fertlisers are not used, the land becomes semi-barren after a few years and the tribals start cutting the forest down and selling the wood. Maize and cotton were mostly cultivated in these areas, he said.
The police cooperates only when there is a law and order issue; encroachment cases are mainly dealt with by forest officials. TS forest department vigilance wing head Swargam Srinivas said, “Prior to the formation of the state, at least 4,000 hectares of land was being encroached upon every year in this region. Now we have brought it down to 1,000 hectares per annum. We are able to prevent encroachers from taking physical possession of the land.”
He said encroachers were now approaching courts and getting stay orders. As per the Forest Act, encroachers can be punished with up to one year of imprisonment or Rs 200 fine or both and this is a bailable offence, he said. The government has decided to amend the Forest Act to increase imprisonment up to three years and fine up to Rs 5,000. For repeat offenders, the punishment is expected to be doubled with the crime becoming non-bailable.
Encroachers were added recently to the list of goondas, bootleggers and drug traffickers under the Preventive Detention Act.
3,900 hectares of forest land retrieved, replanted
In a success story, officials of the state forest department have retrieved around 3,900 hectares of encroached land and replanted it.
In writ petitions that the Hyderabad High Court accepted, Cartosat images were taken as evidence and the forest department was directed to evict the encroachers. With a judgement of the High Court, the forest department retrieved 40 hectares of land in Satupally.
At least 209 writ petitions filed by encroachers are pending before Hyderabad High Court. The forest department has filed counters in 68 cases, and 141 others are in the works. Most litigations pertain to Mahbubabad, Kothagudem and Khammam.
Forest vigilance department chief Swargam Srinivas said, “We have booked 742 cases in the past three years against encroachers. We have a zero tolerance approach towards smuggling, poaching and encroachments. Peripheral trenches are being dug all around reserve forest boundaries to protect the area. The police department has agreed to provide protection as and when required.”
A forest official said, “Encroachers are trying to take shelter under the guise of pending claims under the Recognition of Forest Rights Act.”
TS principal chief conservator of forests P.K. Jha said, “After the Chief Minister’s orders, collectors are no longer encouraging claims under the ROFR Act. It has been stopped totally.”
