BENGALURU: After a gap of 20 years, the state government will give people an opportunity to escape the clutches of law and not get booked for the possession of wildlife articles.
The government will bring in a provision and make an announcement, asking people to surrender wildlife items in their possession- that were either purchased or handed over through generations, but not recorded with the Karnataka forest department.
In October 2023, the Karnataka forest department booked Varthur Santosh, a contestant in Kannada Bigg Boss for his possession of a tiger claws pendant. In the subsequent days, the department sleuths had raided the homes of actors and politicians for their possession of wildlife articles.
Addressing the issue, of forest, environment and ecology, minister Eshwar Khandre announced that the government will look into what needs to be done. This step was criticised by experts and conservationists.
On Tuesday, Khandre, held a meeting with officials from Karnataka forest department and the ministry, along with the AG. At the meeting, it was decided that the proposal would be placed before the cabinet on Thursday for approval.
“Once the approval is obtained, orders will be issued and the forest department will announce the number of days during which people will have to surrender the wildlife items in their possession along with their details. The last time this opportunity was given was in 2003, for a duration of 180 days. There is a provision under Section 64 of the Wildlife Protection Act, where the state has the right to make the rules. Using this legal provision the window will be created,” sources in the meeting told The New Indian Express.
A senior forest department official said, that when the items are surrendered the details of the person will be noted, but not disclosed. No ownership certificate will be given. Individuals will not be allowed to keep the items. While those already having ownership certificates need not surrender, renewing the certificate will be required. A back-end inquiry of the wildlife items will be done. In case it is found to be a part of a criminal case, then the person who handed it over will also be booked, the official said.
De-reservation of forest land
At the meeting, Khandre along with others discussed the legal modalities to de-reserve 9136.27 acres of forest land in Sharavathi valley, which was handed over to people who were displaced during the construction of the Linganmakki reservoir during 1958- 69. The forest land was granted when the region was a part of Mysore state. “Since there is a blanket ban by the Supreme Court orders on no de-reservation of forest land, we are saying that these lands were handed over before the 1980s before the rules were framed. The area was reserved under Mysore Forest Regulation- 1900 Section 30 RD. But no notification was done. While people residing here possess the land, they have no ownership certificate and hence cannot do any transactions. The case will again be presented before the courts for relook,” sources in the meeting said.
To address the land issue, the Karnataka government attempted to de-reserve the forest land in 2015- 17, but was scrapped following court orders. Again in March 2023, the government wrote to the centre to de-reserve the land and was directed to look into the legal provisions.