‘Rename Kanu forests as Sarkari Kanu’

Ananth Hegde Ashisara (second from left), former Chairman of Western Ghats Task Force, submitting a memorandum to Channabasappa, Additional Deputy Commissioner, in Shivamogga on Monday.

Vrukshalaksha Andolana, an organisation working for conservation of forests has pressed the State government to pass an order to name the Kanu forests as ‘Sarkari Kanu’ and take necessary measures to conserve them.

Kanu are a unique category of forest spread over land belonging to the Forest and Revenue Departments. These forest patches are often called ‘Devara Kanu’, ‘Khaathe Kanu’, ‘Coffee Kanu’, and other names.

Ananth Hegde Ashisara, president of Vrukshalaksha Andolana and ex-chairman of Western Ghats Taskforce, said on Monday that, during the British rule, the responsibility of the management of Kanu forests was assigned to local gram panchayats. Locals were allowed to collect minor forest produce from these forests. “It is unfortunate that a large chunk of the Kanu forest have been encroached upon by vested interests in recent times. The encroachers have also taken possession of the forest by fudging records related to land ownership. According to an estimate, more than 10,000 acres of Kanu forest have been encroached upon in Shivamogga district alone,” he said.

He urged the State government to conduct a survey on the forests, fix boundaries, dig trenches along periphery to avoid fresh encroachment and declare the patches as deemed forest. The government should also immediately ban chopping of trees in Kanu forests, he said.

Expressing regret that Kanu forestland was encroached upon by private persons in many places owing to lack of coordination between the officials of Revenue and Forest Departments, he said that, henceforth, the officials of both departments should act in tandem for the conservation of Kanu forests. The meeting of environmentalists and farmers held in Naragodu village in the district on November 28 on Kanu forest conservation has pressed the government to re-name all the Kanu forests as ‘Sarkari Kanu’ and thereby assert its ownership over these forests. The State government should pass an order immediately on renaming the Kanu forests, he said. The meeting has also pressed the government to bar the diversion of forest cover in various categories of revenue land including Kanu, Gomala for non-forestry purposes, he said.

Earlier in the day, a delegation of the members of the andolana, led by Mr. Ashisara, submitted a memorandum to Channabasappa K., Additional Deputy Commissioner, in this regard. Functionaries of the andolana including B.M. Kumaraswamy, B.H. Raghavendra, Haniya Ravi were present.