Suicide during eviction: Govt sends forest officials on leave

Nischith N | NT

After a woman in Gadag consumed pesticide while being evicted from the forest land, the state government has directed the forest department to send the officials, who carried out the eviction drive, on a compulsory leave. The Karnataka State Range Forest Officers Association and other staffers of the forest department have protested against the government’s decision.

Recalling the incident, on March 7, Nirmala Patil who was a resident of Kelur village in Mundargi taluk of Gadag district consumed pesticide leading to her death. Following the incident, the Law Minister J.C. Madhuswamy informed the assembly that the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, would be amended where the words ‘land grabbing’ would be removed to allow the farmers to cultivate on forest lands.

The minister said that there have been instances where farmers cultivating in forest areas have alleged that they were harassed by the forest department officials.

Reacting to the incident, on March 28, the letter by the office of Additional Chief Secretary (forest, ecology and environment) to the principal chief conservator of forest (head of forest force) Sanjai Mohan that the government has approved the officials responsible for the incident be sent on immediate leave. However, there is fierce opposition to the move amongst the senior forest officials who stated that the department had responded to the government on the incident.

“The department had already filed a detailed response to the government on the sequence of events on March 8, a day after the incident happened. Notice was issued to the encroachers in January, but there was no appeal so they went ahead with the eviction. The encroachment was on 11 acres of the reserved forest land. We had dug pits for the plantation which was necessary to conserve the soil. There was a small borewell and a shed on the stated land. Later it was destroyed by the local people. When the forest department officials went to clear the encroachment they were held hostage for 16 hours. Two women had consumed pesticide and we were not allowed to help them as well. Even in self-defence the staff of the forest department did not attack the villagers. Though the villagers claim otherwise, encroachers don’t have legal rights on the land. The land was not used for cultivation,” says a senior forest official.

It is also claimed by the activists that the department has to take back the encroached land from the encroachers. “How could the officials be punished for doing their job by the government, it is all a political game,” they claimed.