Devunoor forest block under threat

Spread over 1,000 hectares, the forest block is located about 20 km from Warangal city. It is the habitat for many rare species of birds, plants and animals.

Warangal Urban: The only forest block in Warangal Urban district, the Devunoor forest area, is facing the threat of illegal occupation by land-grabbers, allegedly due to the apathy of the district administration, particularly the Forest department.

Spread over 1,000 hectares, the forest block is located about 20 km from Warangal city. It is the habitat for many rare species of birds, plants and animals. With Dharmasagar reservoir close by, it is an ideal location for trekkers, bird watchers and other tourists to spend some leisure time in the lap of nature. However, land-grabbers are trying to encroach upon the land. Both legal and illegal mining is reportedly going on unchecked.

Against this backdrop, the District Level Forest Protection Committee (DLFPC) meeting held on January 16 last year under the chairmanship of then district Collector Prashanth Jeevan Patil resolved to appoint a three-man committee, which includes District Forest Officer (DFO) from the forest department, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) or Joint Collector (JC) and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) or Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) to look into the issue of land-grabbing in Devunoor forest block and to conduct a joint survey to demarcate forest land and private land.

But to date, the demarcation has not been completed. Though Forest Range Officer (FRO) Mayuri approached the Assistant Director (AD), Land Record and Survey, Prabhakar Reddy and had the land under her jurisdiction (Bheemadevarapally mandal) surveyed, another FRO Bikshapathi is yet to take up the survey.

The issue of protection of forest land was raised during a meeting conducted on October 8 as part of the Wildlife Week Celebrations here by environmental activist and Vana Seva Society (VSS), an NGO, president Potlapally Veerabhadra Rao. He stressed on the need for immediate measures to check the land encroachment and mining.

Responding to this, Rajya Sabha MP Banda Prakash said he would ensure that a survey is conducted and demarcation is also completed. “I will also sanction some funds for the development of the forest in the Devunoor block besides seeking funds from MP Joginapally Santhosh Kumar. I will also get some funds from corporate houses under their CSR activities,” he had promised then.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Veerabhadra Rao found fault with the forest officials for their negligence in demarcating the land and getting it declared as Reserve Forest (RF) by the State government. By converting the forest block into reserve forest (RF), the rights to all activities like mining, hunting, grazing, etc., would be banned unless specific orders are issued otherwise.

Meanwhile, Dr Suresh Devath, founder president of Society for Public Welfare and Initiatives (SPWI), an NGO, also criticised the “indifferent attitude” of forest authorities. “The tourism and forest departments made several plans to promote eco-tourism activities in Devunoor forest area while Amrapali Kata was the district Collector. The officials also planned to establish an Environment Education Centre, play area for kids, resort, restaurant and other amenities for the convenience of the visitors. But no activity has been taken up by the forest officials,” he added.

 

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