Days after some residents of Mylasandra village illegally cleared the dense shrubbery in the buffer zone of the Turhalli Reserve Forest, one of the last remaining wooded pockets in the city, the Department of Forests has booked cases against them.
According to sources in the department, a complaint was lodged against the Mylasandra village residents with the Kengeri police by the Range Forest Officer, Kaggalipura. The complaint pertained to obstructing government officials from performing their duty and trespassing into forest area.
In addition, sources said, the department had registered cases against the village residents under sections 27(a) to (g) of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, and section 447 of the Indian Penal Code.
While the department is claiming that the buffer zone also exhibits all characteristics of a forest, the village residents claim that the 29 acres of land (survey no. 22) belongs to Mylasandra village. They had cleared the trees and shrubs on over 2 acres of land to make way for a school, playground, hospital and a temple.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for a memorial for actor Vishnuvardhan in the same area on Tuesday.
The Kengeri police are verifying the complaint lodged by the Forest officials. “We have asked the Department of Forests to produce documents to substantiate their claims. We will look into filing an FIR, if necessary, after verifying the documents,” a senior official said.
