The Revenue Department of Karnataka State has taken various steps to protect government land across the state from encroachment and fraudulent use. Public land, i.e., the land which the government owns and manages directly, can fall under two broad categories. The first category of public land—referred to as common land—is owned and managed by the government, but the people may have some user rights on such land. The second category of public landreferred to as government land—is owned and managed by the government, and the people have no user rights on this land.
Public land, on which people have collective rights, includes lands such as grazing lands, burial grounds, tank beds, and so on. Some of these lands, which were used for grazing and other common purposes, became common property resources over time. These include Gomala lands (used for grazing cattle), Gunduthopu (used for planting trees for common use), Poramboku (cultivable waste), uncultivable wastelands, and lands used for public utilities, including lakes and roads.
Encroachment of public land can occur in two ways. Sometimes, people who do not have shelter or any means of livelihood may occupy public land for housing or cultivation purposes. Generally, such encroachments or occupations of public land are regularized from time to time through various government schemes. The other kind of encroachment is land grabbing, which happens when private individuals or entities illegally occupy public land or create fake documents to claim the land.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has said that, according to data generated through the Landbeat mobile app, land measuring 1.40 crore acres is government land in the form of graveyards, lakes, and lake beds, among other parcels of land. As many as 14.32 lakh parcels of government land have been notified for site inspection. Of these, 10.78 lakh parcels have been visited and inspected by village accountants. Among these, 1.93 lakh parcels belong to the Revenue Department, and parcels from 20 different departments have also been identified. Additional responsibilities have been taken on, and lakes and cemeteries have been surveyed. A total of 91,000 parcels have been identified as encroached upon. From August onwards, considering the availability of surveyors, action will be taken to clear the encroachments.
Tahsildars have been directed to react swiftly when they come to know about the encroachment of public property (except for land being cultivated by farmers) and to take measures to evict encroachers. Mr. Gowda said various departments are also authorized to check if their land is encroached upon, besides appointing estate officers to protect the land assets belonging to the various departments. Information about land allotted to their departments should be indexed in RTC. Encroachments should be cleared, and property protected. Encroachment of government land should be ruthlessly cleared.
