Madikeri:  Former MLC A.K. Subbaiah, who is also a senior advocate, has alleged that there was a move to convert the entire Kodagu District into a forest area by declaring large swathes of land as forest land. “The proof to this is the unnecessary raking up of ‘Jamma Baane’ and ‘Sagu Baane’ issues though the issues are settled legally,” he said.

Some pseudo-environmentalists are conspiring at the national and international levels to increase the forest area at the cost of inhabitants of Kodagu and the youth force must raise its voice against the move through legal means, he said, addressing a press conference at Madikeri on Wednesday.

Mentioning the case of the Audit Report by the Office of Accountant General (Revenue) in Bengaluru that has observed that no agricultural or plantation activities can be taken up in ‘Jamma Baane’ and ‘Sagu Baane’ lands in Kodagu as they are government (forest) land, Subbaiah alleged that the Audit Report was a larger conspiracy hatched to take away land from legitimate owners in the district.

The Audit Report has said that the system of fixing revenue for in ‘Jamma Baane’ and ‘Sagu Baane’ lands, conversion and sale are not as per law as the land belongs to the Forest Department. “It is clear that the Forest Department and pseudo environmentalists have a major role to play in the Audit Report that is against the interest of land holders,” he said.

Subbaiah said that there is a move to hide all the developments, legal orders and amendments regarding ‘Jamma Baane’ and ‘Sagu Baane’ and some forest officials have joined hands to take back agricultural and plantation land from the land owners, who are kept in  the dark, and convert them into forests.

“Unfortunately, many in Kodagu do not know what ‘Jamma Baane’ and ‘Sagu Baane’ lands are and there are certain vested interests who want to misuse this ignorance and take advantage of Kodagu residents. I am ready to provide training to youth regarding the issue,” he said.

“Youth must be aware of the facts of land in their district otherwise there is a danger of Kodagu residents losing their plantation. A time will come when the entire district is declared as a Western Ghat forest area where residents will not have any say over their own land,” he said.

Addressing reporters, Small Growers Association leader Cheranda Nanda Subbaiah said that the coffee plantations in Kodagu add to the Western Ghats as the plantations are full of trees. “These estates play an important role in nature conservation and we need not learn from outsiders how to safeguard our green space,” he said questioning the silence of elected representatives from Kodagu on the issue.

Advocate K.R. Vidyadhar was present at the press conference.