Mysuru: Besides charges of encroaching on 150.3 acre forest land in Cardamom Geni Male in Pattighat reserve forest in Kodagu, Ms Daisy Jacob wife of Kerala Vigilance director Jacob Thomas, faces a few other charges of violations of forest law, according to highly placed sources in the Forest department. Sources told DC that Ms Daisy also faced a criminal court proceeding for encroaching on yet another chunk of 38 acres in Pattighat reserve forest. The forest department has already initiated criminal proceeding on this.
She has also been charged with felling more than 500 trees on 38 acres for replacement rubber planting in Pattighat reserve forest and also for felling trees more than permitted on 150.3 acre in Cardamom Geni Male reserve forest. Ms Jacob had secured an anticipatory bail in the main case. She was also allegedly involved in the dispute on creation of survey numbers 1/1, 1/19, 1/23 related to both disputed lands in Pattighat reserve forest, which were not part of the enclosure (private property) number 39 notified in the map of 1901 reserve forest notification. (It is being claimed that 150.3 acre was part of enclosure number (private property) 39 involving 746 acre, notified in the map of 1901 Reserve forest notification. But this land was beyond 746 acre, forest department officers clarified).
Ms Jacob claims to have purchased both lands from Hanuman Tobacco Company. And the company claims to have purchased the land from one Mr Krishna Bhat. Basically, Cardamom Geni male in Pattighat reserve forest was given on lease for the cultivation of cardamom for which the lease holders had to pay a fixed amount of fees to the British Government. During 1901 Reserve forest notification, there were two notices related to the said land (150.3 acre). Nobody claimed the ownership before the forest settlement officer and hence it is being marked as reserve forest land in the map of 1901 reserve forest notification, sources said.
