National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) has welcomed the High Court of Karnataka decision to dismiss a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition objecting to declaring Kappatagudda as a conservation reserve and urged the State government to act swiftly and display its commitment to protecting this ecologically sensitive region.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, NCPNR founder-president S.R. Hiremath said that the High Court order has defeated the ill-conceived attempt of the mining mafia to create hurdles in this direction using some of its stooges who acted like local people. The government should also take steps to revive the Kappatagudda hills with the active involvement of the local people and experts.
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H.K. Patil should take a lead in this direction. The assistance of the experts at the agriculture research centre run by the Patil family too could be obtained to revive the vegetation in that region. Non-government organisations would readily join hands in this task, if the government takes a lead, he added.
The State government should show similar commitment in vacating encroachment of nearly 12,000 acres of forest land grabbed by powerful politicians and others in various places. The reserve forests especially in the Jakkur-Allasandra, Peenya-Jalahalli and Kenchaganahalli in Bengaluru should be cleared to send a strong message to encroachers, Mr. Hiremath said.
