MADIKERI: The Joint Tree Rights Struggle Committee, led by president J.A. Karumbaiah and former MLC A.K. Subbaiah, on Friday termed the September 12 meeting held in Bangalore to discuss issues concerning Kodagu, especially that of the people's rights over trees grown on their lands, as a farcical exercise aimed only at hoodwinking the people of the district.

Mr. Subbaiah told presspersons that even one month after the meeting, the Government had not taken any steps to accord tree rights to the people of Kodagu. He asked why Kodagu was being discriminated against when people of all other districts of the State enjoyed such rights.

He said that some "vested interests", which had hindered the previous Government from taking a decision on the issue, had sought to portray themselves at the Bangalore meeting as supporting the provision of tree rights for the Kodagu people. But these vested interests later prevented the present Government from conferring these rights, he alleged.

He said these rights were not being provided despite the issue being cleared by the previous Government. The September 12 meeting had not discussed the issue, but rather, these "vested interests" had spoken in favour of the right to fell trees in the district, Mr. Subbaiah said.

Mr. Karumbaiah, former president of the Kodagu Zilla Parishat, said that Revenue Secretary Jamdaar had given a favourable reply to the State Government on the issue, based on the arguments put forward by Mr. Subbaiah and the committee members before the Dharam Singh Government. However, this had not been mentioned at the September 12 meeting.

The committee would not take cognisance of the proceedings of the September 12 meeting, Mr. Karumbaiah said. Of the 1,33,000 acres of class C & D lands in the State, over 34,000 acres were in the district, he said. The revenue department had handed over these lands to the forest department for development, two decades ago. Unfortunately, more than 50 per cent of these lands had been encroached upon in Kodagu, mostly by people from outside the district, he added.

Welcomed

Welcoming the Government's decision to return all C & D lands to the care of the Revenue Department, Mr. Karumbaiah wondered whether it included the encroached lands as well. The people of Kodagu would not resort to the indiscriminate felling of trees, if rights were given them, he said, adding that they sought permission to fell trees on their own lands, not in forests.

Among those present were former presidents of the Codagu Planters Association, Nanda Subbaiah and K.P. Ganapathi; president of the Siddapur Small Growers Association, C.M. Kaveriappa; vice-president of the Kodagu IP Set Owners Association, M.S. Uthappa and president of the Kodagu Unaided Schools Okkoota, Appaiah.

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