The report said the government had taken a considered position to stop further encroachments into the forests by regularising those occupations prior to January 1, 1977 and to evict encroachments post January 1, 1977.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Kerala Forest department has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the massive Wayanad landslides on July 30, 2024 completely destroyed two encroachments spanning 0.55 hectares in the Punchirimattam forest area.
It included an encroachment of 0.43 hectares identified in the Punchirimattam vested forest area and another one extending to around 0.12 hectares downstream. The Wayanad landslide area located in Punchirimattam forest area in Meppady Range of the South Wayanad forest division is part of the vested forest committee item no. 22, according to the report filed by the department before the Southern Bench of the tribunal on March 27.
The Bench, which took suo motu cognisance of the disaster based on a report published in The Hindu, had impleaded the Forest department as the ninth respondent and directed the authorities to submit an independent action-taken report on the encroachments and afforestation.
The report said the government had taken a considered position to stop further encroachments into the forests by regularising those occupations prior to January 1, 1977 and to evict encroachments post January 1, 1977.
Out of the initially identified total encroachments extending over 11,920 hectares, evictions have been effected on 6,945 hectares and the present extent under encroachments is 4,975.5 hectares. Of this, the number of encroachments specific to Wayanad district is 2,778, over an area of 936.2 hectares.
These encroachments are pending eviction in view of the various stages of court cases. Already, 1,976 encroachments corresponding to and area of 373.4 hectares of forest land have been evicted in Wayanad district since January 1, 1977, it said.
The Forest department said it has undertaken boundary demarcation and consolidation by constructing permanent cairn stones and ‘kayyalas’ (dwarf walls) to check encroachment. The process of digitisation of forest boundaries has been initiated in collaboration with the Revenue department.
With regard to boundary consolidation covering a stretch of 16,846 kilometres, of which 5,291.26 kilometres included natural boundaries (not requiring demarcation), the length of boundary requiring demarcation is 11,554.74 kilometres. Of this, 10,694.74 kilometres of boundary demarcation has been completed, said the report.
Published – March 31, 2025 03:18 pm IST
