Bengaluru, Sep 22 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the state government would physically verify areas covered by the Kasturirangan report at the village and survey-number levels.
Addressing the Assembly, Shivakumar said the government was committed to protecting forests and the environment while safeguarding farmers and residents from displacement and harassment.
The seventh draft notification based on the Kasturirangan report was issued by the Union government on July 27, 2026, giving 60 days for filing objections.
Karnataka has repeatedly rejected the Centre’s draft notifications. The latest draft proposes to declare 56,000 sq km across six states as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA).
In Karnataka, 20,668 sq km covering 33 taluks and 1,449 villages in 10 districts—Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Udupi—fall under the proposed ESA.
“Everyone believes that the forests, rivers and water sources of the Western Ghats must be protected. But people have protected these areas for generations. They should not face difficulties. This is the commitment of our government, and all the MLAs are also committed to it,” he said.
Shivakumar said the state had been communicating its objections and suggestions on successive draft notifications issued by the Centre since 2014, including those issued in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
He said he had personally interacted with farmers, horticulturists, tribals, local families, people’s representatives and activists in the affected regions and received their representations. He referred to large gatherings and padayatras held against the proposed restrictions.
“There should be a local inspection at the village and survey-number level. It was clear to me today that everyone’s position is that the notification as it stands should not be accepted without such an inspection,” he said.
The CM said the government would not allow farmers or local families to be displaced and would ensure that people living in the region were not harassed by forest officials.
“My clear position is that no farmer should be displaced,” Shivakumar said.
He said the government would protect agricultural and horticultural activities, houses, roads, hospitals, schools, drinking water facilities and electricity infrastructure while safeguarding forests.
Shivakumar cautioned people against encroaching on forest land or hunting wildlife, saying technology had made forest monitoring more effective.
“Our forest department can identify people’s movements and has installed cameras to track animal movement,” he said, urging people to surrender guns used for hunting.
The CM said the government had given people time to surrender such guns and warned that police action could follow otherwise.
“Please surrender them; you do not need them. Let us see how many people come forward,” he said.
He said satellite-based mapping could not always distinguish between agricultural land, forest areas and private property, reinforcing the need for physical verification.
“It is true that when you look from above, every place appears green in the forest. You cannot distinguish between agricultural land, forest and private land,” Shivakumar said.
He said the state would conduct its own physical verification through a government team at the village and survey-number levels before taking up the matter with the Centre.
The CM referred to difficulties arising from deemed forests, social forestry areas, Bagair Hukum land, where farmers cultivate government land without permission, land regularisation claims and pending judicial cases.
“We need to discuss what decisions have to be taken and what amendments to the law may be required. We can sit and discuss this later,” he said.
Shivakumar said he would convene discussions involving the revenue, forest and tribal affairs departments to examine pending claims under the Forest Rights Act and other land-related issues.
He said the state needed detailed maps identifying wildlife corridors, water routes, plantations, human settlements, agricultural areas and infrastructure, along with village population and land-use details.
“It is our responsibility to protect houses, agricultural land, horticulture, schools, hospitals, roads, drinking water facilities and electric poles,” he said.
The CM said a high-level committee, scientific survey and legal examination would be required before the state submitted its detailed report to the Centre.
He supported the proposal for an all-party delegation to New Delhi to take up the issue with the Union government.
“I am ready to lead an all-party delegation of people’s representatives to the central government,” Shivakumar said, adding that the delegation could meet the prime minister and the Union minister concerned.
He urged MPs from Karnataka to jointly pursue the issue in Parliament and said the matter should not be politicised.
Shivakumar said Karnataka had significant ecological and wildlife wealth that needed to be preserved.
“We are not enemies of the environment; we are lovers of the environment. At the same time, we should not cause difficulties to the lives of farmers. That is my clear view,” he said.
Responding to a question raised by Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, he said a senior counsel would be appointed to present the state’s position before the Supreme Court in connection with the Centre’s notification on the Kasturirangan report.
“The information I have is that the National Green Tribunal has directed the Centre to decide on issuing a final notification for implementing the Kasturirangan report. It has asked the Centre to bring the notification to its notice after it is issued,” he said.
The CM clarified that Karnataka was not disregarding the recommendations of the Kasturirangan Committee on identifying ESAs in the Western Ghats.
(PTI News)
