Telangana forest and revenue depts in big fight over Jakaram forest land

HYDERABAD: A National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) contractor chopped trees worth Rs 8 crore to widen a road in Jakaram reserved forests in Mulugu district, triggering an internecine conflict between two state departments - revenue and forest - over control of a verdant sweep straddling 400 acres.

Forest officials hit back and booked executive engineers and contractors, accusing them of destruction of forest and is now contemplating moving court against NHAI and its contractors.
The Hyderabad-Bhoopalapatnam stretch of NH-163 was taken up by the NHAI contractor - User Agency - in violation of laws, say forest officials. The road negotiates through neighbouring Warangal district, leading to Bhoopalapatnam in Chhattisgarh. Despite objections from the forest department, district revenue officials and police backed NHAI in executing the project without forest clearance.
On May 22, forest range officers along with staff, stopped work and seized earth movers and issued a preliminary offence report.
Revenue officials clamp curbs, foresters book NHAI agency
In a swift retaliation, Mulugu tahsildar and executive magistrate M Satynarayana Swamy invoked prohibitory orders under Section 145 of CrPC, restraining entry to forest officials. NHAI engineers with support of revenue staff and police, stopped forest officials.
The area trapped in a tussle between two departments is in Mallampally village in Jakaram reserved forest, where two existing lanes were converted to four. “The area is mentioned in the block map of reserve forests, demarcating enclosures within the block. As per the 2011 topography sheet of Survey of India, the area is demarcated as a forest and is controlled and managed by the forest department for more than 68 years as per the Warangal district collector. For Mission Bhagiratha, the government sought permission to divertforest land and it was granted. NHAI also submitted a proposal for specific land parcels. This indicates that it is a forest land,” states a forest department report accessed by TOI.
In 1951, an order by district collector excluded 1,564 acres from Jakaram J Block and handed it over to the revenue department and the area was assigned to landless, but the remaining 400 acres was returned to the forest department by then district collector, Warangal, in 1955, providing it administrative control. The area was also included in the Section 15 draft notification and submitted to the government in 1964.
NHAI executive engineer, Warangal, M Vidyasagar, said: “The Warangal district collector handed over the 3.5km stretch to the revenue department with evidence. The forest department, however, failed to produce documentary proof.”