Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that he will hold a meeting on forest land issues related to the hilly region including Shivamogga, in Bengaluru in the first week of May. The people’s representatives and senior officers would attend the meeting, he said in a press conference in Shivamogga on Wednesday.
The CM said he was aware of incidents of villagers facing allegations of land grabbing for taking up farming or constructing houses on government or forest land. “We brought in a strict law against land grabbing, keeping the landgrabbers of Bengaluru in mind. However, the same is being applied for people who encroached upon government and forest land for farming. We will address the issue”, he said.
Mr. Bommai said the BJP had a strong base in Shivamogga district and meetings were held to strengthen its base. The issues concerning the district were discussed in detail, he said.
The people who lost their land for Sharavathi and other projects have been demanding grant of land for decades. A series of protests were held on this issue recently. Elected representatives of the district raised the issue with the Chief Minister during the meetings and urged him to hold a meeting in Bengaluru to resolve legal hurdles in granting the land.
