Hyderabad: There is gross mismatch over the extent of reserve forest lands in state, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao told the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Mr Rao said that while forest records say these lands comprise up to 25 per cent, in reality they are just about 12 per cent, due to large-scale encroachments.
“Believing the forest records, we initiated steps to acquire forest reserve land for Damaracheral thermal power plant. We compensated the forest department by giving alternative lands for afforestation. But when officials visited the spot to acquire these lands, they were shocked to find agriculture fields there with power and borewells. Farmers resisted land acquisition and demanded compensation. We were forced to pay up. This is reality,” Mr Rao said.
