Govt Enemy No. 1 Of Forests: HC

The division bench headed by Justice DV Shylendra Kumar also directed the government to place on record the fact that a forest official had advised against permitting two mini-hydel projects in the Western Ghats area in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district.

"The State appears to be No. 1 enemy for forests. Why are you zeroing in on forests? This is against the apex court's verdict which speaks for prohibition of such activities including mining in forests. Why are you embarking upon leasing out forest lands to all and sundry? How can you permit such projects in an area which is unique and is a biodiversity heritage area? It's rather unfortunate," the bench observed. Read the full report here.

Source: Times News Network, Bangalore.