Karnataka's forest cover has not gone up in 40 years: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Amid the dwindling forest land, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that he has not seen the forest cover in Karnataka going up in the last 40 years despite the cry to increase it from from 22 per cent to 33 per cent.

He was speaking at Aranya Bhavan after paying tributes to forest personnel who laid down their life while fighting poachers and timber mafia. "I have participated in numerous programmes of the department where the 33 per cent forest cover target was spoken about. But it has remained at 22 per cent," he said.

Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre, who spoke at the event, said the department is facing challenges from multiple fronts. "As many as 61 forest personnel and officers have laid down their life to protect forest and wildlife. Besides forest fire, we face challenges due to encroachment and wildlife conflict," he said.

Khandre said rich people who have encroached huge amounts of forest land, were instigating the small landholders to protest against the department.

"We have given clear instructions not to evict people who have less than 3 acres of encroachment, including their patta land as well as those who have applied for regularisation under the Forest Rights Act. However, some rich people with vested interests are instigating these small land holders to protest against encroachment eviction drives," he added.

The minister said the department was utilising technology in fighting forest fires, checking encroachments and managing wildlife conflicts. "We have implemented a new standard operating procedure to check man-elephant conflict. We are also working with border states for better management of forest and wildlife," he added.