Forest dept reclaims 1.26 acres land in BM Kaval encroached by BDA, Waste plant

Bengaluru: The residents’ long-running battle against the solid waste processing plant at Banashankari 6th Stage received a boost on Tuesday after Bengaluru Urban Forest officials recovered 1.26 acres of land allegedly encroached upon by the facility within the Badamanavarte (BM) Kaval Reserve Forest in south Bengaluru.Residents of Banashankari 6th Stage have been demanding the closure or relocation of the waste processing plant, citing foul odour, fly infestation and the discharge of untreated leachate. Over the years, they have pursued legal remedies before multiple authorities, including the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Karnataka Lokayukta. Among their allegations was the encroachment of reserve forest land by the facility.Sources in the forest department told TOI that the disputed land falls under Survey No. 92 of BM Kaval. “The matter had come up before the Karnataka Lokayukta, and the Upa Lokayukta had also visited the site and sought details of the encroachment. The forest department had presented legal documents against the BDA, which had originally acquired the land to develop Banashankari 6th Stage and later allotted a civic amenity site to the BBMP for setting up the waste processing plant.

A joint survey by the BDA and the forest department had also confirmed the encroachment of forest land. Based on orders issued by the competent authority, we have recovered the land,” explained V Ganesh, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru Urban Forest.N Ravindra Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru Urban, said, “The waste processing plant had constructed a compound wall along the land and developed a garden on the 1.26 acres.

The encroachment has now been cleared and the land taken back into our possession.” Welcoming the action, TS Mahesha, president of the Banashankari 6th Stage Residents Welfare Association, said, “The Lokayukta had noted that the unit located within the BM Kaval forest area concerns an extremely sensitive matter from the perspective of the environment and local biodiversity, and it ought to have been established only after carefully examining its advantages and disadvantages.

Accordingly, directions were issued to the forest department. Residents will continue to fight against the plant.”The latest action comes nearly three years after the forest department reclaimed 5.20 acres of land near the waste processing facility from the BDA in August 2023, after the area was declared part of the reserve forest by the then Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Bengaluru Circle.