Hyderabad: Following a controversy over classification of lands on the basis of a 1921 decree by the Madras Presidency, the Union ministry of environment and forests has reportedly sought a report from the AP government on the extent of forestland in the CRDA region as well as in the adjoining Krishna district. Before taking up any construction work or handing over land to farmers, forest lands have to denotified and that should be done only with the Central government’s permission.
 
The AP revenue department has already deployed several staffers to identify the land. Forest officials are assisting them, sources said. According to a rough estimate, half of the forest cover in Krishna district will vanish once the capital comes up.
 
Massive deforestation has already taken a huge toll in the district as the forest cover has come down from 33 per cent to just 8 per cent. This will further shrink and according to revenue estimates, not less than 65,000 of 1,15,000 acre of forestland will be wiped out for the construction of the new capital.
 
The state government is following the guidelines issued by the Centre in 1980 to convert forest villages into revenue villages. For this purpose, the state should submit a map delineating the external boundaries of the areas where pattas have been issued pre-1980. It should not be necessary for it to submit details of individual pattas.
 
Encroachments on forest lands are viewed seriously and the revenue department is authorised to cancel the pattas if such violations are notices, officials said. Interestingly, the destruction of forestland is taking place at a time when the state government is embarking on a massive plantation programme — Vanamahotsvam — from July 7. The week-long programme aims at planting 3 crore plants.
 
The AP government has on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 98,60,000 for executing the IT work related to the Reorganisation. This is primarily developing data bank of departments, data capture and hosting for a period of one year.  The total cost of this project is Rs 197.20 crore and AP has given its share (58 per cent), L. Premachandra Reddy, secretary of general administration said in an order