Tribals and forest dwelling communities often get blamed for the encroachment of forest lands, owing to their shifting cultivation or ‘Podu’.
However, data revealed through Revenue overhaul exercise in the Telangana State shifts much of the blame to none other than the Revenue Department.
Close to 3.6 lakh acres of land which the Forest Department claims as its own across the State, is at odds with the Revenue records due to various administrative reasons, the reconciliation of the records by both the departments has revealed.
The reconciliation exercise between the two departments was ordered by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, taking the occasion of purification of land records across the State.
Major portion of these lands, amounting to close to 3.43 lakh acres, is not being shown as forest land due to non-ratification of records when transfers were made.
The land “encroached” by individuals, at a little over 8,000 acres, is not even a droplet in the ocean when compared to these figures.
GIS
According to the figures obtained from the Forest Department, the total extent of forest area as per the GIS (Geographic Information System) stood at close to 67 lakh acres, having interface with 4,563 villages.
After completion of 50% of the reconciliation which covered more than 33 lakh acres of forest area in 2,265 villages, the department has discovered that 15% of the surveyed land, at 4.95 lakh acres, is under various disputes. More than 70% of the disputes are with the Revenue Department.
The process
“All forests were basically revenue lands before being notified. When DFO sends proposals for declaration of certain parcel as forest, they are forwarded to the State Government by the district Collector. Government, if satisfied, issues a draft notification,” explains the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) P.K. Jha.
Forest settlement officer designated by the Revenue Department invites objections for the draft notification, and the rightful claims are settled through compensation. After issue of final notification, it becomes a forest land, which is again notified in State Gazette.
“Revenue records and district gazette should be updated accordingly, which is some times not done by the officials,” Mr. Jha said, explaining the huge extent of lands under dispute.
Non-ratified land
Close to 2.8 lakh acres has been revealed as such non-ratified land, besides 63,000 more acres on which illegal pattas have been granted by the Revenue Department.
Boundary dispute prevails with the Revenue Department in connection with 16,678 more acres, due to application of different survey methods by both the departments. Encroachments, boundary disputes with pattadars and court cases occupy much smaller extents, while 1.23 lakh acres are shown under “Any Other Disputes” column.
Unsurveyed stretches
“There are unsurveyed forest stretches in districts such as Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Adilabad, and Mahabubabad, which are not shown with any co-referencing village. They all are shown under other disputes,” Mr. Jha clarifies.
While setting the records straight based on the chronology of gazette notifications is just a matter of time, yet to be seen is the State Government’s decision with regard to 63,000 acres on which “illegal” pattas have been issued by the Revenue Department.
