HYDERABAD: After the tribal population in different parts of the state alleged forced evictions for Haritha Haram drive, forest department officials said that all the land retrievals which are done are recent encroachments by the villagers.
The officials said that the forest areas were encroached upon only after 2011 and encroachment has taken place as recently as 2020. “Anything of dispute at manner is not being dealt now or people are not being evicted and a certain procedure is being followed to resolve that dispute and are also conducting counselling sessions. Wherever we are pursuing now, it is a clear case of encroachment like in the case of Machavaram,” said Rohith Gopidi, forest divisional officer, Amrabad.
Officials from Nallamala forest said there is no dispute of boundary between revenue and forest department in this region, as alleged by villagers.
In Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district, officials said confrontations about land with tribals are few when compared to the non-tribals. “It is the non-tribals who are encroaching upon forest lands,” said S Shantaram, DFO, Asifabad.
