Karnataka - Madikeri   

Officials asked to complete survey

Staff Correspondent

MADIKERI: Deputy Commissioner Subodh Yadav has instructed the officials concerned to complete joint survey works with regard to the contentious "jamma malai" lands in the district by Tuesday.

The survey is being taken by the Revenue and Forest departments to ascertain the extent of jamma malai land and areas that have been encroached.

Jamma malai lands are in forests. They were originally given to 65 families in the district to grow cardamom by the erstwhile Kodagu rulers. The system continued under the British. A survey conducted in 1900 noted that 13,736 acres of land came under the jamma malai tenure, mostly in Madikeri taluk.

But another survey conducted by Van Haeften in 1935 revealed that the land under the tenure had reduced to 8,649 acres for various reasons. Some jamma malai land even existed outside forests. However, as per records, 4,859 acres of land comes under the tenure at present.

Many holders of jamma malai have abandoned cultivation of cardamom as it has become non-remunerative. Many holders are yet to pay the nominal revenue fixed per acre. However, in view of the State Government's stand that it is ready to pay compensation to landholders for reverting jamma malai land to the Forest Department, a few people started paying revenue fixed for the land in their possession, sources said. The talk that coffee plantations had come up on such land is being ascertained through the survey.

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