12k acre encroachment on forest land including Tiger corridor connecting Corbett, Rajaji?

MEERUT: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has asked the UP government to submit a report on a complaint alleging that nearly 12,000 acres of forest land - parts of which serve as a critical wildlife corridor - has been encroached by private players using fake documents of ownership.


The corridor, which is part of Bijnor's Najibabad forest division, borders Corbett National Park and Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand and records frequent passage of animals, including tigers and elephants, between the two protected reserves. The move comes following a complaint by lawyer Gaurav Bansal to the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) alleging land grabbing in UP forests.



In its letter to UP chief wildlife warden and Bijnor divisional forest officer, NTCA, a statutory body under MoEFCC, has directed authorities "to furnish the factual status and take appropriate action" on the complaint.

Manoj Shukla, divisional forest officer of Najibabad (Bijnor), confirmed to that they have received a letter from NTCA in this regard. "Since all revenue land records are with the district administration, we have asked them to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter."

According to Kishan Chand, a stenographer at the office of sub divisional magistrate of Nagina tehsil, who blew the lid off the alleged land grab last year, forest land around 12 villages have been transferred to private players, mostly businessmen from Punjab, Assam, Rajasthan and UP.