Kolar, April 11 -- In a major legal setback for senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, a forest appellate authority has ordered him to hand over 60.23 acres of alleged encroached forest land in Kolar district, rejecting his appeal and upholding earlier findings of encroachment.
According to the court order issued by the Conservator of Forests, the disputed land located in Hosahudya village of Srinivaspura taluk must be surrendered to the Forest Department within 30 days of receipt of the order. The authority has also directed that if Kumar fails to comply within the stipulated period, eviction proceedings will be initiated by the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kolar division.
The decision is based on...