HYDERABAD: Forests in Telangana continue to be under serious threat of encroachment. Although the state government is taking up afforestation under Telangana ku Haritha Haram programme, enough efforts seem to be lacking when it comes to preventing encroachment of natural forests, which harbour much more diverse flora and fauna than the artificially developed vegetation through plantation programmes.
Figures supplied by the state forest department say it all. In 2014-15, there were 336 cases of encroachment of 928 hectares of forest land. There was not much change in the four years that followed as the number of encroachment cases booked by the department in 2017-18 was 341 pertaining to encroachment 1,294 hectares.
This year, between January and August, there were a massive number of 262 cases of encroachment of around 630 hectares (1,556 acres) of forest land.
CAUSES: According to forest department officials, the foremost reason for encroachments is agriculture. People from villages situated around forest areas and from tribal as well as non-tribal communities have been, for decades, denuding forests to take up agriculture. As families expand, more forests are chopped down to provide land for agriculture for the next generation. Farmer support schemes such as Rythu Bandhu and farm subsistence of `4,000 per acre by the state government are said to have strengthened people’s resolve more to chop down forests and develop land for agriculture.
When contacted, P Raghuveer, principal chief conservator of forests (IT & publicity), said, “Of the around 3,132 forest beats in the state, the problem of forest encroachment exists in 800 and among those the problem is severe in about 150 beats where the issue is regularly reported. It is mainly agriculture for which forests are encroached by people. Moreover, there are good irrigation facilities and farm subsidies available now.”