Forest encroachment in Karnataka sparks demand to halt working plan approvals 

In view of rampant forest encroachment in Hassan, Shivamogga, and other circles in Karnataka, and the failure of the State machinery to clear the evictions, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has been urged to withhold approval of draft working plans for all forest divisions in the State.

The demand is based on the Centre’s own circular issued more than 23 years ago (May 3, 2002), which categorically states that approval of forest working plans and diversion proposals must be linked to the eviction of illegal encroachments.

The Centre’s directive, based on a Supreme Court order dated November 23, 2001 (W.P. No. 202/95), warned that failure to act would jeopardise not only forest clearances, but also funding under Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Based on the above circular, an enraged activist Raghavendra, has written to the MoEF&CC, dated July 21, 2025, that working plans should not be approved until substantial eviction drives are undertaken, and erring officials face disciplinary action.

Mr. Raghavendra has flagged the alarming rise in fresh encroachments over the past two years, and pointed out that Karnataka recorded 1,385 new forest encroachment cases in 2023–24, and 992 cases in 2022–23, with a significant number reported from Bengaluru, Belagavi, Kanara, Hassan, and Shivamogga circles, as per the annual report of the Karnataka Forest Department.

He cited the 2002 circular which described forest encroachments — then totalling over 12.5 lakh hectares nationally — as a growing menace, often driven by powerful local lobbies. The Ministry, said Mr. Raghavendra, had mandated the formation of multi-tiered committees at State, circle, and district levels to monitor, report, and assist in evictions.

However, he has complained and alleged that these committees are non-functional in Karnataka. Citing the example of Dharwad and Belagavi circles, the complainant alleged that not a single district-level encroachment monitoring meeting was convened from 2020 to 2024, flouting both Central and State directives.

In subsequent circulars, the Ministry reiterated that senior officials including Deputy Commissioners, Superintendants of Police, and forest officials would be held personally accountable for any fresh encroachments, and liable for disciplinary action.

“But despite these directives and fresh encroachments being reported, the MoEF&CC continues to approve working plans and diversion proposals in Karnataka,” remarked Mr. Raghavendra.

He said that this was a violation not only of Supreme Court orders, but also of the Ministry’s own binding circulars. “While funds are being disbursed under Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the forests are disappearing at an alarming rate,” he added.

The complainant has called for a moratorium on working plan approvals for all forest divisions in Karnataka until a credible eviction drive is carried out and accountability is fixed.