Telangana forest dept battles land grabbers eyeing Mahavir Harina National Park

The forest falls in Hayathnagar, Mansoorabad, Tatti Annaram, Kuntloor, Kuthbullapur, Harepally and Bandlaguda villages of Rangareddy district.

Hyderabad: The Telangana Forest Department is fighting tooth and nail to protect its properties from land grabbers in the city and suburbs who are eyeing vast forest lands for real estate activity, especially the Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park at Vanasthalipuram.

The national park spread over around 3600 acres of forest land under the Mansoorabad Forest division of Ranga Reddy district is the finest example.

The Vanasthalipuram police had last week arrested three people for allegedly duping prospective buyers with fake land deals inside the Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park.

Hyderabad Institute of Excellence

The group of fraudsters duped the buyers by selling 582 acres of protected forest land and portions of landfill. On learning of the scam, the forest officials approached the Vanasthalipuram police who booked a case and arrested three people.

Case in HC over Mahavir Harina National Park land

In September 2018, Hyderabad High Court dismissed 29 writ petitions filed by as many as 1,500 people claiming a huge 2,400 acres of forest land, almost 67 percent of the national park, as their ancestral property.

Forest officials maintain the land grabbers are eyeing the National Park land in view of the rapid urbanization of Vanasthalipuram and surrounding areas.

MS Creative School

The forest falls in Hayathnagar, Mansoorabad, Tatti Annaram, Kuntloor, Kuthbullapur, Harepally and Bandlaguda villages of Rangareddy district.

The Telangana forest department had maintained that no claims were received during the process of demarcation and declaration of the 3,605 acres of forest land under the Mansoorabad division, as MHV National Park in 1994. However, due to the real estate boom, people are coming and filing petitions in the courts claiming ownership over the property.

The Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park located in Hyderabad is one such great attraction. It is particularly known for being home to an endangered animal species, the Black Buck deer. The other animals found here are cheetahs, wild boars, porcupines, monitor lizards, and several varieties of snakes.

The park used to be the hunting grounds of the Nizam during the bygone era. It was converted into a national park after India’s independence. The hunting ground was turned into a park in order to preserve the flora and fauna of the place. Water birds include egrets, kingfishers, cormorants, Indian pond herons and short-toed eagles.

Not long ago, the park was home to panthers and leopards. Local villagers living in the surroundings of the park often sighted the cats until the forest department shifted them to other safer forests in the state.

Back to top button