Over 5,000 hectares of forest land encroached in Kerala: NGT steps in

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken cognizance of a news report that revealed that over 5,000 hectares of forest land in Kerala have been encroached upon, as per the Kerala Forest Department’s annual administrative report 2021-22.

The green court has issued notices to the principal secretary, the Environment and Forest Department of Karnataka and the principal chief conservator of forest and chief wildlife warden of the Kerala forest department. The case will be heard by the southern zonal bench of the NGT at Chennai on April 12, 2024.

The news report, published in the Deccan Herald on January 8, 2024, stated that the largest chunk of encroached forest land, amounting to 1,998.03 hectares, is in the Kottayam High Range Circle, which includes the Kothamangalam, Kottayam, Munnar, Marayoor and Mankulam divisions.

The second-largest encroached forest area, measuring 1,599.61 hectares, is in the Palakkad Eastern Circle, and the third-largest, covering 1,085.67 hectares, is in the Kannur Northern Circle. The least amount of encroachment, only 2.634 hectares, is in the Aralam and Wayanad wildlife divisions, which come under the Palakkad Wildlife Circle.

The NGT said that the news report raised substantial issues relating to compliance of environmental norms and directed the states of Kerala and Karnataka to respond to the notices.

The NGT chairperson Prakash Shrivastava-led bench, also comprising expert members Dr. A. Senthil Vel and Dr. Afroz Ahmad, transferred the original application to the southern zonal bench, Chennai, for further action. The bench also ordered the transfer of the original record to the southern zonal bench.

The NGT has been proactive in dealing with cases of forest land encroachment and deforestation in the country. In January 2024, the NGT had directed the Assam government to submit a report on the status of encroachment of the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary and the steps taken to remove the encroachers.

In December 2023, the NGT had ordered the Himachal Pradesh government to submit an action plan to restore the forest land encroached by the apple growers in the state.

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