Samaj Parivarthana Smudaya founder-president S.R. Hiremath has accused Industries Minister R.V. Deshpande of misusing his office to retain forest land in Jakkur plantation village in Bengaluru, which are allegedly in his possession.
At a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Hiremath said that 177.28 acres of land in Yelahanka taluk of Bengaluru Urban district was declared as Jakkur-Allasandra Plantation Reserve Forest under the provisions of the Mysore Forest Regulations in 1940.
There was no notification published in the official Gazette de-notifying these land or part of them.
Following an appeal by the Forest Department, the Assistant Commissioner of Bengaluru North sub-division had issued notices to 50 people who are alleged to have encroached upon these land. Among these, the 50th notice was issued to Mr. Deshpande and his wife.
Considering the seriousness of the issue, a committee headed by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Vigilance) C. Venkata Subbaiah was formed. The committee identified nearly 4,950 acres of forest land.
Meanwhile, Mr. Deshpande and others, who were in the illegal possession of forest land, sensed danger and using his office and with the help of Forest Minister B. Ramanath Rai got the committee replaced with another high-power committee headed by then Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherji.
This committee had given an interim report saying that these land were reverted to Revenue Department in 1949. However, expressing his dissent over the report, Mr. Venkata Subbaiah, who had retired by that time, wrote a 30-page letter on February 2, 2016 to the Chief Secretary which indicated that Mr. Mukherji had helped the land grabbers, Mr. Hiremath said.
Mr. Hiremath released the copies of the partnership deed that Mr. Deshpande and Radha executed on January 16, 2012 to transfer three acres of land in Jakkur plantation village to their daughter-in-laws Megha Prasad Deshpande and Avni Prashant Deshpande.
The Minister should admit his mistake and return the forest land to the government. Otherwise, the samudaya would resort to legal action, he said.
