MADIKERI: With coffee plantations suffering due to bad weather conditions, growers in several regions of Kodagu are involved in converting the plantations to ginger farmlands. However, environmentalists voiced against this move as hundreds of shade trees and other valuable trees are felled to convert the estates. Meanwhile, the forest department has been alerted by environmentalists on the incident even as cases have been booked.
Thousands of indigenous trees that acted as natural shade to the coffee crops have been felled in different estates across Kushalanagr taluk limits. From age-old jackfruit trees to valuable rosewood and sandalwood trees, thousands of trees were felled to convert the coffee estate into ginger farmland on a private property at Kodagarahalli near Kushalnagar.
Similarly, nearly a hundred trees were felled at Andhagave village limits in Kushalnagar taluk inside a private estate for the same reason. The increased losses faced by coffee growers are resulting in this tree-felling spree as growers hope to earn good returns from ginger crops that are earning whooping prices.
However, the concerned estate owners have not sought permission from the forest department for the uprooting of trees. “While the land is owned by the private player, the trees on the land come under the government ownership. The forest department must quickly act on such incidents and take necessary action,” demanded Chandramohan, the convener of Cauvery Swachata Andolana. He alleged that the department is inactive and is letting the tree felling spree, without registering proper cases.
“There are RFOs, forest guards, police squad, forest patrol squad and other staff. It is their duty to ensure that such illegal tree felling is stopped. This illegal felling will give rise to timber mafia and if all the estates are converted to ginger farmlands, then Kodagu cannot be saved,” he opined.
When questioned, Madikeri DCF Bhaskar B commented stating that it does not concern the department on what the farmer is growing. “But the grower must seek permission to uproot the trees and if not, we can book them under the Tree Preservation Act. In Kodagu, the land tenure is different. While a grower is the owner of the land, the trees on his land are owned by the government.
While permissions are given to lopping of trees for shade regulation for coffee plants, the trees cannot be felled for extension of cultivation,” he explained. The department has booked the private growers for illegal felling of trees even as investigations are underway. He added that several such incidents go unnoticed as it takes place in private lands. “But we take lawful actions when we are alerted about the same,” he said.