The Hindu : Nefarious activities continue unabated in Makutta Range

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 17, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Nefarious activities continue unabated in Makutta Range

By Jeevan Chinnappa

MAKUTTA (KODAGU-KERALA BORDER) JULY 16. The jungles in the Makutta Range of Kodagu, just after Virajpet town, are evergreen.

A view from the peak from Perumbadi would reveal their beauty vis-a-vis the bald patches on the Kerala side. The Makutta Range is under the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary.

That they should be accessed at many points from Kerala in the absence of roads from Kodagu, has made them vulnerable for plunder and poaching.

The forest area, measuring up to 12,152.98 acres fall in Urutty and Kerty zones of the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, of which Kerty has 9,502.98 acres and Urutty 2,650 acres, both under survey no. 211/8 of Heggala village in Kodagu. Of them, 1,275.60 acres in the Kerty zone and seven acres in the Urutty zone were leased to Portland Rubber Company for 999 years during the British rule. It is said that the lease has been amended to 99 years now.

A recent development to open an arrack outlet inside Kodagu at Kakethod, just before the Makutta Check-post, throws up a serious question of the continued vulnerability of the forest areas.

It falls on the seven acres that has been leased to Portland Rubber Company, which in turn, has leased it to another party, which is being termed illegal.

There exists a piece of encroached land in the name of C.P.Mohammed from Kerala, who is dead. There is a temple and a hotel close by along with a few houses and residential quarters of the rubber estate. Forest authorities in Virajpet refused to regularise the holding of Mohammad prior to 1978. They said the same extent of land would be given to the family of Mohammad in some other place.

The place is now being used as a `club" in the evenings to carry out suspicious activities.

When this correspondent, who went to the spot with the Deputy Conservator of Forests, R.K.Srivastava, the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Vegas, and the Range Forest Officer, M.M.Achappa, found some persons using the club premises.

They fled the scene immediately. An influential former excise contractor from Virajpet is said to be owning the arrack outlet, the "club" and the hotel.

Adjacent to the arrack outlet, additional constructions have come up with areas earmarked for urinals. A watchman employed there fumbled when questioned. The question why should a watchman be employed in a desolate place when there is no work?, has no answer. It is believed that the place is also being used for nefarious activities.

There is pressure on officers of the Forest Department here from political circles in New Delhi, apart from local people, including a prominent zilla panchayat member, to clear relevant files to allow sale of arrack in that outlet.

However, the department has denied permission citing that no activity shall be allowed inside the wildlife sanctuary.

The Excise Department has issued a licence in the name of Karim to sell 300 litres of arrack a day at a place where not many people reside. The ploy is to utilise the spot as a conduit to store arrack brought from Virajpet to be transported to a remote place near the Kootupole Bridge on the Kerala side for sale.

The Kerala Government has banned the sale of arrack. What is interesting is that arrack sachets transported from Virajpet easily pass a RTO check-post, a commercial taxes point, an APMC point, an excise point and finally a forest gate. The "managers" of the outlet say they work for an excise contractor from Mysore. According to them, the outlet is on the land bearing survey no. 40.

But there is no such survey number and the land belongs to the Forest Department under survey no. 211/8.

On reaching the Kootupole area, a small makeshift hut was noticed on the banks of a river. Arrack was freely sold there.

On seeing the team, those selling arrack fled the scene along with the goods. They disappeared into the "Sneha Bhavan" area.

The Forest Department gave the land for laying a road towards the "Sneha Bhavan", a mental asylum situated there.

Mr. Srivastava threatened to close the road if the illegal sale of arrack did not stop.

Similar is the case at Mundrot on the Kodagu-Kerala border on the Talacauvery-Bhagamandala side. Licence to sell arrack was issued by the Excise Department, Madikeri, for one year in the name of P.K.Amer.

Records show that the land belongs to one Madhavan. What is interesting is the selling time fixed by the Excise Department in a reserve forest area, 9 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.

The Forest Department has served notice on 13 persons to vacate the place. But they have challenged the notice saying that the land belonged to Kerala.

Sources said the Kerala Government handed over the land to Karnataka after an inter-State survey during 1971-72.

The case, however, is being heard in a court at Ernakulam in Kerala.

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