BENGALURU: In an effort to prevent encroachment of its land, the Water Resources Department has decided to prepare a Property Register comprising details of its properties across the state.
Water Resources Minister M B Patil told Express that the decision was taken to safeguard its lands from land sharks. “Hundreds of thousands of acres of land have been acquired by the department for several irrigation projects both in the Krishna as well as Cauvery river basins,” he said. Patil said that once the property register was prepared, efforts would be taken to protect the vacant land.
There are already reports of encroachment of land belonging to the department in many districts, he said.
Replying to questions, he said that the department’s plan to create a forest bank, taking into account the green cover developed in the land owned by the department.
Patil said the several subsidiaries of the department including Cauvery Neeravari Nigama, Karnataka Neeravari Nigama and Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigama Limited had transformed large tracts of barren land granted by the revenue department into forests. “To maintain green cover, a separate forest wing had been formed in the department headed by an IFS officer,” Patil said.