The Turahalli Reserve Forest area that is spread over 78 acres and 18 guntas in the city is under threat, what with the land mafia eyeing the 29 acres of buffer zone around the forest.
According to highly placed sources here on Saturday, the Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore (Urban) district, had in December 2013, had earmarked two acres for setting up the memorial for Vishnuvardhan. However, the forest department, in its various letters to the Deputy Commissioner’s office, had pointed out that the two acres comes in the buffer zone.
The forest department has said that this was in violation of the Supreme Court guidelines, Karnataka Forest Rules, 1969, and Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976. The source said that as per Rule 41(2) of the Karnataka Forest Rules, no wooded area or area adjacent to one or protected forest or within 100 metres of reserved forests can be granted for occupancy.
“Before granting the land, the Deputy Commissioner should have sought concurrence of the forest department. However, this was not done. The rules state that even if it is to be granted, it should be done for the common purposes of the village. How is a memorial of any common use for the village?” the source asked.
The source claimed that since the memorial was being allowed, the local residents have also taken it upon themselves to develop the remaining area of the buffer zone. “If the buffer zone is lost, it is just a matter of time before we lose the entire reserve forest,” the source added.
No permission to fell trees
Several trees have been felled to make way for the memorial that is coming up in the area for actor Vishnuvardhan, apart from those that were cleared by Mylasandra villagers on Saturday. According to a senior forest official, the BBMP’s forest cell had not issued no objection certificate for either the memorial or the villagers, who used earth movers to clear the area. The official said that this was a violation of the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976, and added that a case could be filed against those who had felled the trees in the area abutting the Turahalli Reserve Forest illegally.
