The Forest Department’s proposal to acquire vast swathes of land to widen the established elephant migratory corridor around Bandipur National Park, to help reduce conflict situations, may be a cumbersome process.
Land has been identified around the villages of Lokkere Chickyelchetti, Kebbepura, Yeriyur, and Bachalli to create a corridor connecting Lokkere and Heggavadi forests in the western part of Kundagere range of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. But it belongs to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe landholders and acquisition will be a cumbersome process under the existing law.
The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978, prohibits the sale and transfer of land belonging to the SC/ST communities to private parties. However, in case of the government, it can be done through an amendment and a notification, besides ensuring that all legal aspects are complied with and there is no element of force.
Conservator of Forests Ambadi Madhav told The Hindu that the local community was keen to surrender the land and have made repeated appeals since they are unable to take up agriculture given the uncertainty arising out of frequent crop raids by wild tuskers from the national park.
No force involved
At a recent meeting with senior revenue officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar, it was decided that the issue would be pursued as the Forest Department was not forcibly acquiring the land nor proposing a change in land use pattern, and it was meant for wildlife conservation.
Sanjay Gubbi, conservation biologist and member of the State Board for Wildlife said acquisition will be a “cumbersome process but not impossible”. It would be welcome if the exercise is legally valid, voluntary, and socially acceptable given the sensitivity of the issue and the rights of the local community, he added.
Widening Kaniyanapura corridor is high on the priority list given its importance in elephant migration. At present, the corridor is only 500 meters wide, surrounded by agricultural and revenue land, private resorts on one side, and the deep Moyar gorge on the other.
Narrow stretch
According to the Forest Department, the free-ranging elephants have been using this narrow stretch of corridor for their movement between the eastern and the western ghat landscape for generations. But in the process, they enter the agricultural farmlands resulting in conflict situations. In all, 878 acres have been identified and bulk of it is close to the established animal corridors abutting the forests. The authorities are also submitting a proposal to acquire land under compensatory afforestation plan under which industries allotted land elsewhere, can compensate by paying for private land on forest boundaries and get it transferred directly to the government.
