MADIKERI: The forest department has booked three real estate owners from Andhra Pradesh for illegal chopping of trees in Madikeri.
The action comes after a complaint against the defaulters by retired Air Marshal KC Cariappa.
Over 80 native trees across 38.5 acres of the vulnerable, landslide-prone land at Mangaladevi Nagar have been chopped by a real estate owner for resort construction.
It is learnt that the owner does not have permission from the forest department for the same.
The land with survey number 540/73 extending to 18.95 acres in Mangaladevi Nagar is owned by S Appa Rao, a native of Andhra Pradesh.
The land extending to 19.01 acres under survey number 543/74 is owned by S Subbayamma, another native of Andhra Pradesh.
These two landowners converted agricultural land in 2017.
During a natural disaster in 2018, a landslide caused damage to several houses across Mangaladevi Nagar and residents were moved into rehabilitation houses. The land was declared vulnerable, then.
The two landowners have now been booked by the Madikeri division forest department under the Karnataka Forest Act and Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act 1976.
Further, Venkateshwara Reddy, another land owner from Andhra Pradesh, has also been booked for illegal chopping of trees across vulnerable land in the Karnangeri area on the outskirts of Madikeri.