Sharavathi project: Fresh bid to get land ownership rights for displaced families

A high-level committee on Thursday decided to approach the Centre afresh with a plea to denotify about 9,600 acres of forest land in favour of 11,000 to 12,000 families displaced due to the Sharavathi river project in Shivamogga district of Karnataka and rehabilitated there decades ago.

The panel is headed by State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, both of whom hail from the district.
After a meeting here, Yediyurappa told reporters that a fresh proposal would be sent to the Centre with a request to denotify the forest land in favour of those displaced families who have not yet got rights over the land.

"We had called on the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and apprised him of the predicament of nearly 11,000 to 12,000 displaced people (families). He has asked us to survey the land and send a proposal," Yediyurappa said.

He said those dwelling on the land have not got the ownership rights and it is akin to being landless.

"The district administration has completed the survey and prepared a proposal to give ownership on 9,600 acres of land. We will send the proposal today itself," Yediyurappa said.

Shivamogga MP and Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra, legislators, and senior officials attended the meeting.