This Coorg coffee cultivator wants to grab a slice of India’s packaged coffee market

Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), World Opinion

Launched 3 years ago, Levista is eyeing expansion in south India, Mumbai and Delhi

S. Shriram, vice-president-sales and marketing at Levista

Coorg in Karnataka, is among the foremost coffee growing regions in India. SLN, a three-decade old coffee plantation company in the region is now aiming to grab a slice of the Rs 2,200-crore annual packaged coffee market, which is dominated by big players like Nestle (Nescafe), Hindustan Unilever (Bru) and Tata Coffee.

SLN launched its own brand of coffee called Levista three years ago and has ever since expanded to 40,000 retail outlets, predominantly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It has now set its sights on expanding across other markets, starting with the rest of south India.

“Of the Rs 2,200 crore market annually, over 80 per cent of the coffee consumption happens in the five southern states and Union territories. Therefore, we aim to reach a significant market share here rather than being sparsely spread all over the place,”  S. Shriram, vice-president sales and marketing at Levista, told THE WEEK.

“At the moment, we have a deep presence in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. We launched our coffee in Goa in February and business is growing steadily. We will be entering the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana market by Sankranti and will penetrate deeper in there. Kerala will follow next.”

The company has the markets of Mumbai and Delhi-National Capital Region on the radar, too, however, it has not finalised a launch date yet, added Shriram.

Levista is also available on online platforms, including Amazon and it is also scaling up on other e-commerce platforms to reach a wider audience.

“Players like Big Basket have also aided our brand coverage, as has Flipkart. We have been recently on boarded through Udaan that reaches small retailers as well as hyperlocal players MilkBasket,” said Shriram.

While south India has a strong tradition of filter coffee, the rest of the country has largely been a tea drinking market. However, things have started changing with penetration of cafes like Cafe Coffee Day and Starbucks in the last decade. International coffee brands like Lavazza are also expanding in the country, buoyed by rising coffee consumption here.

“There is a huge scope for us to grow. The coffee market has been growing steadily. Out of home coffee consumption through cafes has already hit a pan-India presence and thanks to this familiarity, more new consumers are sipping coffee at home, through packaged coffee,” noted Shriram.

Levista’s parent SLN currently has a capacity upwards of 50,000 metric tonne per annum, and Shriram says the company will be able to produce enough coffee for the domestic market as well as for exports.

Talking of exports, the brand is already present in Singapore, Malaysia, Middle East, Maldives and Sri Lanka, reaching out to the south Indian consumers in these markets. The company intends to have a larger international presence next year, added Shriram.

source: http://www.theweek.in / The Week / Home> News> Business / by Nachiket Kelkar / November 20th, 2020

SP Launches Emergency Response Vehicles

Business & Economy, Records, All

Madikeri: 

Kodagu SP Khsama Mishra launched 7 ‘Emergency Rapid Response’ vehicles at the District Parade Grounds here yesterday.

Speaking after flagging off the vehicles, Kshama Mishra said that Emergency Rapid Response vehicles are meant for the benefit of public. Pointing out that the public can call the National Helpline No.112  in case of emergencies or any crisis or criticality, she said that ERSS (Emergency Response Support System) Helpline -112 service is an ambitious initiative of the Government of India.

Noting that the earlier Police Helpline No.100 and Fire Emergency Helpline No.101, have been merged with 112 Helpline number, she said that the people of Kodagu can call 112 in case of accidents, crimes, rescue, natural disasters, illegal and unlawful activities etc., 

Explaining the working of the helpline, the SP said that this service will respond quickly to emergency and frantic calls made by the public from anywhere in the district.

Dy.SP Dinesh Kumar, DSB Inspector Medappa, City Police Inspector Anup Madappa, Rural Police Inspector Ravikiran, Reserve Police Inspector Rachaiah and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 05th, 2021

Virtual Museum Of Kodava Heritage

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

Sir,

The year gone by will not be forgotten for a long time to come. A year that turned the world upside down. Travel and hospitality sectors which provide most employment were crippled beyond belief. The pandemic has changed the very nature of tourism and travel for ever. Their worlds will never be the same again. Words like hybrid and virtual have come in to the lexicon of tourism. This is the new reality.

Monuments, cultural heritage sites and famous museums across the world have gone ‘hybrid’ to provide online guided tours through their sites and galleries to millions who are unable to travel anymore. In India, Government has announced that many of the country’s UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites and major museums will prepare to provide online access.

Technology not only makes this possible but has opened the magical doors to the creation of virtual museums that are only limited by imagination!

In this brave new world, India Foundation for the Arts (IFA)  — www.indiaifa.org  — has come forward to invite proposals from multi-disciplinary teams for the creation of a Virtual Museum to showcase Kodava Heritage and Culture. The virtual museum will be an interactive online space for the rich and thriving heritage of Kodavas offering a glimpse into their history, customs and cultural practices. IFA has an enviable record of supporting path-breaking initiatives in the field of art and culture.

The exciting prospect of this museum of cultural heritage of a proud warrior people has  become possible by a CSR grant from Recaero India Pvt. Ltd., which is a pioneer in the field of aerospace engineering. This grant will clearly need to be supplemented with generous donations as the project progresses.

For a project of this kind to be successful, we need to access tangible resources like photographs, video clips of marriages, folk dances and observance of rituals, jewellery and objects which are unique to the Kodava way of life. The design team would also require to reach out to members of the community for intangible resources like accounts of social rituals and customs of Kodavas that may have been lost in antiquity. We, therefore, request  members of the community to volunteer to provide the resource requirement and any other support.

The Project Coordinator in IFA Darshana can be reached at: darshana@indiaifa.org. I can be reached on: rathicodanda.kodavaheritage@gmail.com

— Rathi Vinay Jha, Chair, India Foundation for the Arts (IFA)

Bengaluru

29.4.2021

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Voice of the Reader / May 05th, 2021

Madikeri municipal council urges volunteers to join battle against COVID-19 as cases surge

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

The CMC has requested volunteers with medical and non-medical background to register and the council will soon assign responsibilities to them within the city limits.

Madikeri :

Following the increase in the number of active COVID-19 cases across Madikeri, the City Municipal Council has urged residents to join in voluntary work to help handle the pandemic. The CMC has requested volunteers with medical and non-medical background to register and the council will soon assign responsibilities to them within the city limits.

The call for volunteers was made by the CMC on Saturday evening and 25 people have already registered for the work. “Two people even called from Bengaluru to join the team. However, they required an accommodation facility and this is not feasible,” explained Soumya, AEE. She added that the state has released guidelines to the district to form ward committees of volunteers in city limits to help the administration in handling the pandemic situation.

The volunteers will first involve themselves in conducting surveys across their ward to identify inter-district, inter-state and international travellers. “The volunteers have to find out if these travellers are following the quarantine norms and also urge them to take RTPCR test if they have symptoms,” Soumya explained.

Further, the volunteers have to create awareness on the vaccination drive and provide correct information on government orders. Supplying essentials to people in home quarantine and home isolation and supplying rations to the needy will also be taken up by the volunteers.  

Currently, the CMC is readying the database of volunteers and the ward committees will shortly be formed to entrust COVID related work. Volunteers in Madikeri city limits can register after dropping a message with their names and ward details on WhatsApp to 9620383963.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR / Express News Service / May 02nd, 2021

The couple showcasing coffee’s dark side

Business & Economy, Coffee News, World Opinion

Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy are trying to simplify coffee with a radical approach that involves reinventing the flavour wheel and learning about coffee’s colonial hangover.

Ārāmse Coffee started out as a small in-person gathering organised by the duo in Mysuru in August 2019. (Cottonbro, Pexels)
Ārāmse Coffee started out as a small in-person gathering organised by the duo in Mysuru in August 2019. (Cottonbro, Pexels)

We enjoy coffee from around the world, but fail to see beyond labels and brand names into the world of cultural identity and the farms and roasteries that work behind the scenes to bring us our daily cup of joy. It’s a topic that Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy, a couple that co-founded coffee subscription company Ārāmse Coffee, spoke eloquently on coffee’s best brand ambassador James Hoffmann’s YouTube channel a month ago when the latter opened his channel to content creators.

The Beginning

Ārāmse Coffee started out as a small in-person gathering organised by the duo with coffee lovers in Mysuru to understand the growing speciality coffee scene in August 2019. These were more informative for Rajaram who confesses that he used to drink filter coffee “with milk along with three spoons of sugar” before his wife introduced him to good coffee while they were staying in Shoreditch in East London. “That, along with an introductory class to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) gifted by Namisha sent me down the coffee rabbit hole,” he says laughing.

When the couple came on a visit to India in 2019, the idea was to take up yoga but they landed up creating coffee workshops in Mysuru. “We started six-person workshops featuring two roasters and two different types of brewing. It was a tech-free way to spend half a Sunday and learn more about coffee,” Rajaram says about the beginning of Ārāmse Coffee.

Soon, the pandemic hit and the team had to quickly pivot from in-person meetings to something else. They went about it in two ways. First was to recreate the south Indian filter that Rajaram has grown up drinking since childhood and a prototype of which they are expecting to showcase at The London Coffee Festival later this year or in early 2022. The second was to create a community of coffee lovers online by starting coffee videos and later branching out to coffee products and a coffee subscription package to generate revenue. They are currently focussed on scaling up their subscription service and adding more content whilst in India.

Rajaram is especially happy with the direction of the coffee subscription model. “It’s a recommendation-based subscription that we offer through various roasters. We match the MRP so you are not overpaying for each subscription,” he explains. With a coffee experience tailored to individual palates and that can be further customised with ‘My Coffee Journey’ by the user, Rajaram says the system has been custom coded to scale, with the recommendation-based technology getting better with each order as it learns more about the user’s palate.

Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy of Ārāmse Coffee.
Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy of Ārāmse Coffee.

The Conundrums

Whilst creating content and working on their own filter, the couple were also keen on exploring the impact of colonialism on coffee in a producing nation like India.

The couple is flummoxed by the fact that despite being the seventh-largest producer of coffee in the world, we still bulk produce and send some of our best beans to Europe and other countries. “Historically, Indian coffee has largely been bulk processed, white labelled and exported to countries like Italy, Germany and Belgium,” they say.

Parthasarathy is, in fact, working on a project for her certification in the SCA Sustainability Program that explores the localisation of coffee flavour wheels as one small way of making coffee more inclusive, especially for producers in the Global South. It’s a topic that leads to the SCA Flavour Wheel.

The Flavour Wheel

Globally, the SCA has a flavour wheel that roasters, baristas and everyone in the business refers to while describing any coffee. Rajaram says, “The problem is that the flavour wheel was largely developed in the US and UK and this could lead to some implicit biases as to what flavours are desirable and which aren’t. Tasting notes like Earthy, which are very sought after in the subcontinent, would make coffee folks in the Global North cringe as this is considered a flaw amongst those circles.”

According to the couple, having a localised flavour wheel for each place would make coffee a lot more inclusive and accessible. “We have our own unique fruits and spices that could easily make their way into these wheels.”

It’s a topic that sounds familiar to Debabrat Mishra, founder of Koraput Coffee, that’s working with tribals in Odisha to make coffee beans. According to Mishra, the wheel needs new flavours that have not been considered until now. “Our coffees have notes of green chilli, white pepper and even gooseberry because of cross microbe activity between the trees and coffee plants in Koraput. The SCA flavour wheel and way of scoring coffees that prioritises automation over traditional methods needs to change,” he says.

The SCA needs to acknowledge the shortcomings in its flavour wheel and adopt a country-specific approach, which is unlikely; or, every country could create a flavour wheel that best represents the coffee flavours found in its beans, which is too ambitious. So technically nothing can be done at the moment, except more education amongst coffee lovers.

source: http://www.lifestyle.livemint.com / The Mint / Home> Mint Lounge> Food> Drink / by Priyanko Sarkar / May 03rd, 2021

Coffee, critters and climate change

About Kodagu / Coorg, Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All

With temperatures rising and pests proliferating, Indian coffee growers are fighting challenges beyond their control.

Unpredictable rise in temperatures followed by an uncertain monsoon cycle has gradually started taking a toll on coffee yields. (Chevanon Photography, Pexels)
Unpredictable rise in temperatures followed by an uncertain monsoon cycle has gradually started taking a toll on coffee yields. (Chevanon Photography, Pexels)

Coffee is the first thing I see, smell and taste in the day. But as caffeine-junkies like you or me ride the wave of premium specialty brews, we need to pay attention to growers across major regions in India, such as Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who are battling a host of challenges due to a changing climate.

As spring transitions to summer, the pattern of unpredictable rise in temperatures followed by an uncertain monsoon cycle has gradually started taking a toll on yields and impacting the livelihood of coffee farmers.

Bengaluru based Tej Thammaiah, a co-founder of Maverick & Farmer Coffee Roasters and third-generation coffee farmer, says his team of growers on the 150-acre estate have meticulously documented the cultivation process to pinpoint the impact of increasing temperatures over the last decade. The mild, aromatic Arabica plant with its nuanced flavours, second only to Robusta in production volume in India, is highly susceptible to even the slightest change in climate. As temperatures increase, it hastens fruit ripening, leading to a loss in the overall quality of beans.

To fight this temperature change at estates such as Pollibetta in Coorg, his growers strive to find plots at higher, cooler elevations. But in this new environment, the finicky coffee fruit typically takes longer to mature. Moreover, changing plot locations is not a sustainable solution since coffee fruits in India are grown primarily in “shady” conditions, under a canopy of trees. And deforestation and logging is taking a toll everywhere.

It gets worse: When plants aren’t grown in ideal conditions, it leaves them more vulnerable to pests and diseases. Sunalini Menon, president of a coffee grading and training institute called Coffeelab in Bengaluru, mentions that a beetle known as white stem borer has been particularly harmful, spreading through India and Sri Lanka. It prefers plants exposed to sunlight and after burrowing in hard wood and roots as a larva, it hatches and feeds off the plant, destroying the woody tissue, leading to stems wilting and leaves yellowing. The beetle seems to have a particular liking for Arabica.

Not all hope is lost, though. Menon says India was one of the first countries to battle another infamous dweller, a fungus known as leaf rust, at the Mysore Coffee Experimental Station established by the British in 1925 at Chikmagalur, Karnataka. Known as the Central Coffee Research Institute, this research centre now run by the Coffee Board of India is researching and guiding growers on pest control, as well as initiatives such as diversifying shade patterns with local balsa and cedar trees and introducing new varietals of Arabica and Robust suited for tropical growth.

But she does believe it’s important to let go of the hesitancy to uproot plants. Farmers, perhaps for cultural reasons, have typically been hesitant to replant their land though research suggests that shorter plant life-cycles increase quantity, improve bean quality and even give growers some reprieve from emerging pests and diseases.

Ultimately, however, no practice can replace the tedious, time-consuming process of screening crops regularly. A task which falls squarely on growers.

Some shift to growing other crops. Those who stick it out, especially in smaller estates, need more support–in the form of agritourism, research on new techniques, investment in weather stations or, simply, from consumers.

If that doesn’t happen, we may in time find it increasingly difficult to get that morning fix.

For those new to coffee: Thammaiah suggests Selection 795 or Cauvery to taste domestic Arabicas (while we still can).

Nightcap is a column on beverages by Varud Gupta, author of Bhagwaan Ke Pakwaan and Chhotu. @varudgupta

source: http://www.lifestyle.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Mint Lounge> Food / by Varun Gupta / April 26th, 2021

Peaceful Madikeri City Municipal Council elections held amid Covid-19 pandemic

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All
Voters wait in queues following social distancing in Madikeri, to cast their vote.

The Madikeri City Municipal Council elections were held peacefully on Tuesday. The elections were held for 23 wards.

The voters took part enthusiastically during the voting process, despite the fear of the Covid-19 pandemic. The future of the candidates will be known on April 30.

People waited in a queue as early as 7 am at the polling booth near the KSRTC bus stand.

A similar scene was found in several other polling booths as well. Even though the number of senior citizen voters was less, women and youth took part in large numbers.

People who were tested positive for Covid-19 were allowed to cast their franchise between 5 pm and 6 pm. The patients wore PPE kits and exercised their franchise.

The candidates expressed their happiness over the good turnout of voters. Many candidates had speculated about a poor turnout due to the pandemic.

However, the spirited show of the voters is a good sign, said the candidates.

The seniors opined that there were no elected representatives at the City Municipal Council from the last two and a half years and the public was fed up with the administration of the officials.

The officials were not listening to the woes of the people in the CMC wards. Hence, the overwhelming attendance by the voters at the polling booths clearly indicated the fact that the people wanted elected representatives in the CMC administration, they added.

Maintenance of rules was given emphasis at the polling booths. The people wore masks and maintained social distancing.

Police vigil was tightened at every polling booth. Deputy Commissioner Charulata Somal paid a visit to the various polling booths to review the situation.

Candidates in fray

A total of 108 candidates contested from 23 wards of the CMC.

Both the BJP and Congress had fielded candidates in all the wards while JD(S) had fielded candidates in 22 wards.

SDPI fielded nine candidates, Aam Aadmi Party fielded four candidates and one candidate contested from Karnataka Rastra Sangha.

Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah arrived at the polling booth at Junior College, Madikeri, along with his family to cast the vote.

MLC Veena Achaiah exercised her franchise at the polling booth in ward number 3.

K G Bopaiah later predicted that BJP will win 15 out of 23 seats and will come to power in the CMC.

He also said that tough rules in the state were inevitable to contain the spread of Covid-19. He suggested conducting Covid-19 tests of people entering Kodagu. Those who test positive should be home quarantined.

Congress leader Mittu Changappa cast his vote at the booth set up in St Micheal School in Madikeri at 7 am, as the first voter. He boasts of holding the record of being the first voter during the past 28 elections.

Workers violate rules

Workers of various political parties and also the supporters of independent candidates were seen flouting the Covid-19 guidelines, near the polling booths.

Voting percentage

At 11 am, there was a voting percentage of 31% and the percentage rose to 63% at 2 pm.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A, DHNS, Madikeri / April 27th, 2021

Rebecca And Victoria

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

Pocahontas, the beau-tiful daughter of the American Indian chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, was born in 1596 in what is now known as Jamestown, Virginia, in the USA.  Her rank was that of a Princess. 16th and 17th century saw rapid colonisation of the Americas by the European nations.  History is replete with the brave fights the native Americans put-up against the white man who came with superior weapons and technology, and ultimately subdued the original inhabitants.

Chief Powhatan was a formidable opponent of the alien settlers.  One of the British colonisers who encountered chief Powhatan was John Smith.  In a skirmish, the British were outnumbered, and John Smith was taken prisoner.  When Smith was about to be executed, the then 11-year-old Pocahontas intervened and saved his life. John Smith was held captive for a while by the Powhatan chief. The young and impressionable Pocahontas was intrigued by the white man.  She used to visit the prisoner frequently and in time learnt a smattering of English from him.  John Smith subtly introduced Pocahontas to Christianity.

Years later, during the first Anglo-Powhatan war in 1613, Pocahontas was taken hostage by the British.  During this period, she was taught English and the scriptures in more detail. Soon her indoctrination was complete. In  1614 Pocahontas was baptised and was given the name Rebecca.

Fast forward to 1852.  The 11-year-old Gowramma, the favourite daughter of the last Raja of Coorg, was taught English and the scriptures by the British during their exile in Benares. The Raja and Princess Gowramma land in Victorian England in 1852.  Presented at Queen Victoria’s court, the queen took the vulnerable Gowramma under her wing as her God-daughter and encouraged her baptism.  Gowramma was given the name Victoria.  Queen Victoria bestowed Gowramma with a rank equivalent to that of an European Princess. 

During her captivity, Rebecca Pocahontas fell in love with John Rolfe, a British tobacco trader and grower. John  Rolfe was a widower. 18-year-old Rebecca married the much older John Rolfe in  1614.

When Victoria Gowramma was 19 years old, she got romantically involved with a British army officer: Lieutenant Colonel John Campbell, who had served in India.  He was a widower, and 30 years her senior.  They were married in 1860. 

John Rolfe and Rebecca Pocahontas had a son named Thomas Rolfe.  In 1616, John Rolfe brought his wife and infant son to England. Pocahontas was presented at the court of King James I, where she was given a reception with protocol normally extended to a daughter of a king.  

In March 1617 John Rolfe and his family boarded a ship to sail back to America.  Rebecca Pocahontas suddenly took ill and had to be taken  ashore.  Within days Rebecca died, and it is suspected that the cause of her death was either pneumonia or tuberculosis.  She was 21 years old.

Victoria Gowramma and John Campbell had a daughter named Edith Victoria.  Gowramma suffered from tuberculosis and succumbed to the disease in 1864 at the age of 23. 

Rebecca and Victoria, separated by nearly 250 years, had uncanny similarities in their lives.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by C.P. Belliappa / April 30th, 2021

Kodagu resident launches free food service for ambulance drivers amid COVID-19 lockdown

Amazing Feats, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

Drivers who want to avail this service can call Ashok and breakfast or lunch will be readied in half an hour’s time.

A former ambulance driver himself, Ashok (in pic) says he knows the stress they go through (Photo | Special arrangement)

Madikeri :

A resident of Kodagu has come up with a unique initiative to help ambulance drivers during the COVID-19 lockdown. Ashok BS, who hails from Madenadu village, is offering free food to ambulance drivers across Kodagu.

Ashok is a jeep driver by profession. He also owns an earth mover and often works at construction sites. From Wednesday, Ashok has started a unique initiative to help the numerous ambulance drivers who are working amidst the curfew.

“I worked as an ambulance driver for 12 years in Bengaluru. I know the stress that they have to go through. At this time of curfew, they won’t be able to eat on time as everything shuts by 10 am. I wanted to do my bit during this time of the pandemic,” shared Ashok.

Ashok has shared his phone numbers across social media platforms and has offered to provide free food (take-away) to ambulance drivers. Drivers who want to avail this service can call Ashok and breakfast or lunch will be readied in half an hour’s time. He will pack the home-cooked food and wait near Madenadu Main Road, where ambulance drivers can collect the take-away free of cost.

“I prepare simple food – dosa for breakfast and rice & rasam for lunch. If I avail fish on the day, I make a dish out of the same and pack them. On the first day, three drivers availed the facility. I would be happy if more drivers benefit from the initiative,” shared Ashok. To avail the facility, ambulance drivers can call Ashok on the mobile numbers 9902270046 and 9483069621.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Prajna GR, Express News Service / April 29th, 2021

HC directs govt. to transfer 11,722 hectares to Forest Department

About Kodagu / Coorg, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All

This was decided four decades ago when Harangi reservoir was built

The High Court of Karnataka has directed the State government to transfer within one month the entries in respect of 11,722.29 hectares of identified lands of C and D categories in Kodagu district to the Forest Department as was decided four decades ago to compensate forest area utilised for Harangi reservoir project.

A Division Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice J.M. Khazi issued the direction while allowing a PIL petition filed by K.A. Ravi Chengappa, President of Cauvery Sene, Madikeri, and C.C. Devaiah of Virajpet of Kodagu district.

The petitioners had pointed out that the reservoir was built during 1970s near Hudgur village in Somwarpet taluk and the government had on May 12, 1972, ordered release of 900 acres of land from the Yadavanadu forest area and 3,000 acres from the Atturu forest area to rehabilitate the persons who had lost their lands on account of the reservoir project.

Also, the government in 1972 and 1994 had directed that 18,000 acres of land from the Revenue Department should be handed over to the Forest Department to re-compensate the forest land utilised for the reservoir project, the petitioners said.

Though orders were passed in 1972 and 1994 for transferring 11,722.29 hectares of land to the Forest Department, the revenue authorities, including the Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, till today had not transferred the records of these lands in favour of the Forest Department, the petitioners contended.

During the hearing of the petition, the government counsel told the Court that only formal handing over of lands to Forest Department was not done while clarifying that the Forest Department is at liberty to take charge of the 11,722.29 hectares of lands and the court issue such a direction.

The Bench, while referring to apex court’s judgements in T.N. Godavarman Thirupulkpad case on protection of environment and forest lands, said that the Government was required to transfer these lands to Forest Department as the 11,722.29 hectares of lands were mean to re-compensate the forest area used for the reservoir project.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / Bengaluru – April 28th, 2021