PTR launches drive to clear 202 ha forest land from encroachment

Pilibhit: Authorities at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) launched a major eviction drive to reclaim 202 hectares of forest land allegedly under illegal occupation for decades. The land is part of an 813.17-hectare reserve forest transferred from the Shahjahanpur forest division to the PTR buffer zone in 2019.PTR divisional forest officer Manish Singh said the encroachments existed long before the land was officially handed over to the reserve. The affected land falls in Nabadia Banki, Gahluiya, Fagunai and Barabari villages under Puvayan tehsil in Shahjahanpur district.He said a joint team of the revenue department and PTR carried out the demarcation of the land in February this year based on official revenue records. After the area was marked and approval obtained from senior forest officials, eviction action began on Monday amid protests by farmers.According to Singh, around 26 hectares have been cleared so far, and the operation will continue until the entire encroached area is reclaimed.Rohilkhand zone chief conservator PP Singh said medicinal tree species would be planted on the reclaimed land during the upcoming monsoon, depending on soil quality, groundwater levels and waterlogging conditions.Meanwhile, affected farmers claimed their families were rehabilitated on the land after migrating from Pakistan during the Partition, though ownership rights were never granted to them by the govt.They also alleged that no official or legal notices were served before the eviction drive began. “Either give us legal ownership of the land we have cultivated for generations or send us back to Pakistan,” the protesting farmers said.