The Forest Department has registered a complaint against two people on charges of cutting trees and seized timber, firewood, and billets worth over ₹11 lakhs at Nandagondanahalli in Belur taluk.
Belur tahsildar Mamatha and her staff had noticed an unauthorised cut of trees at Nandagondanahalli on December 17, during her visit to the village. She informed the Forest Department officials and instructed them to inquire into it. Later, a complaint was registered by the Belur Range Forest Officer.
A case has been registered against Rakesh Shetty and Jayamma of Nandagondanahalli. The officers have seized 228 mtrs of firewood, 26 mtrs of billets, and 57 mtrs of timber from the spot. The seized materials have been shifted to Gendekatte Forest Park in Hassan.
D. Mohan Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu that the accused were absconding. They had cut 126 trees of different varieties, including honne, garige, havalige, spread over four acres and 30 guntas of land.
“The land is said to be gomala (grazing land), a government land. However, ownership has to be ascertained. Belur RFO has taken up the investigation into the incident after registering the case,” he said.
