BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the forest cover in Karnataka is a mere 20%. Even as forest officials tried to correct him that it was 22%, he said, “My information tells me it is 20%. But if you say 22%, fine. But it is still less than the norm of 33%.”
He said that every year, crores of saplings are planted and this year’s target is five crore, but still the forest cover has not increased. He told department officials and various organisations to work towards increasing the forest cover.
Karnataka boasts of being number one in elephant population and number 2 in tiger population, but man-animal conflicts too are on the rise. The forest department should ensure that there is sufficient fodder and water to keep wild animals inside the forests, he said. He assured the officials that he will look into the proposal to allocate an additional Rs 100 crore to put up rail barricades to stop elephants from straying out of forests. Just like the compensation given immediately for the loss of life, crop loss cases too should be considered immediately, he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of handing over CM medals to 50 forest staffers (retired and serving) for 2019-20 and 2020-21, he said the medals should be given every year. Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said the Forest Survey of India report showed Bengaluru as the third largest city India with a forest area of 89 sqkm, which is 6.81%. But Bengaluru’s tree cover has reduced by 5 sqkm in the last 10 years.
61-yr-old watcher gets award
MM Kusanur, a 61-year old retired forest watcher from Hangal range in Haveri, was one of the 50 medal recipients. He had joined the service in 1986. Recollecting a 2003 incident, he said his face was smashed and he was critically injured when he was fighting sandalwood poachers. He fought them off till the other staffers and seniors came to the spot. He recollected that he was in a coma for seven days and was in hospital for two months.