A joint survey will be done in the 1,36,619 acres forest reserve area of 188 villages under Koppa forest division in order to declare the revised forest reserve area excluding about 10,000 hectares, said Deputy Conservator of Forests B P Ravi.

Addressing a public contact meet held at the Aranya Bhavana here on Tuesday, he said the government has instructed the deputy commissioner to declare revised reserve forest stretch excluding 10,000 hectares for the convenience of legalisation of illegal land holdings and houses apart from granting of land which were due to pay TT fine. A total of 24,789.33 acres have been identified in this direction, he said.

Though it has been asked that the survey report should be submitted within the end of this year the time left is too short, hence proposal has been submitted asking extension of the duration for another year. Committees have been constituted at taluk, district and state level for the joint survey. Three teams in Koppa, two each at N R Pura and Mudigere and one in Chikmagalur have been formed, he informed.

Presiding over the meeting, Chief Conservator of Forests Kishan Singh Hogar said many long pending confusions might find a solution as a result of the joint survey. It will help the rehabilitation of the people who were displaced from the reserve forest area, he observed.

In the forest reserve, an additional area of 10,000 hectares need to be identified. Space should be reserved for meadows, stadiums, domestic hills and roads. Inam Jahagir area in Kalasa hobli should excluded- are some of the demands of the public.

Forest Conservator Avatar Singh, ACF M A Chandre Gowda, Malik Fayazuddin, S Purushotham were present.