Telugu Desam Party national president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu wrote a letter to Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav on Saturday, requesting him to take steps for the protection of the forest block at Allamcherlarajupalem in T. Narsapuram Mandal of West Godavari district, measuring nearly 3,256 acres, from land grabbers who are trying to occupy it, allegedly with the backing of some officials of the Revenue and Forest Departments and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders.
Mr. Naidu stated that the said forest block was home to diverse species of flora and fauna and it was taken possession by the Forest Department in accordance with a notification under Section.26 of the Madras Forest Act, 1882, on December 18, 1952.
The Forest Settlement Officer, Nellore, had issued a proclamation under Section 6 of A.P. Forest Act, 1967, inviting objections and claims for notifying the forest block as reserved forest and it was published in the District Gazette dated February 6, 1974.
Meanwhile, the Assistant Settlement Officer (ASO), Nuzvid, granted a Ryotwari patta under Section 11(a) of A.P. (Andhra Area) Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948, in August 1956 in favour of Raja Raghavaraju Ranga Raju of Jeelakarragudem village for an extent of 366.99 acres, who apparently got a patta from the Zamindar of Vuyyuru, he said.
However, while the Divisional Forest Officer, Eluru, is the absolute owner of the forest land in old S. No. 453 in Allamcherlarajupalem village, the ASO, Nuzvid, without making him a respondent in the above claim, had granted the Ryotwari patta. Not paying heed to the claims of the Forest Department and unilaterally declaring the said land as non-forest land went against the principles of natural justice, he said.
Since then, encroachers and their heirs were approaching the High Court with multiple petitions by wrongly claiming that the said land in Survey numbers 226, 227, 231, 232 at 233 in Allamcherlarajupalem forest block was theirs and it was in their possession. They were getting electric poles erected, borewells dug, and were ploughing the land clandestinely, Mr. Naidu alleged.
