The central ministry has ordered an inquiry into forest encroachment in Ramdurg

A statue of Shiva on the Mullur Gudda hills at Ramdurg in Belagavi district. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Union Forest Ministry has ordered a detailed inquiry into forest encroachment at Ramdurg in Belagavi district. This includes unauthorized diversion of reserved forest land for non-forest purposes such as deforestation, construction of buildings and installation of sculpture.

A team of officers, including some from the Union government and others from the state government, conducted the first round of spot checks. And the investigation is ongoing.

The investigation focuses on violations of forest norms involving the installation of a 72-feet tall statue of Lord Shiva on top of the Mullur Gudda hill on the outskirts of Ramdurg town and the construction of other buildings in the vicinity.

Congress MLA Ashok Pattan unveiled the statue in 2018. Said to be the tallest Shiva statue in the state after the one in Murdeshwar, the statue attracts heavy footfall. It is visited by countless pilgrims and tourists during festivals like Maha Shivaratri.

Forest officials who inspected the sites raised serious concerns as the statue is located on reserved forest land and was erected without prior legal permission.

The violations were discovered after two official site inspections by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change’s Regional Office, Bengaluru, and a series of queries raised by the state government and the ministry itself.

The case concerns the diversion of nearly two hectares of reserved forest land through two subsequent proposals seeking subsequent clearance of the forest. One proposal concerns the use of 0.9768 hectares for the Shiva Prathishtapana Seva Samiti Meditation and Yoga Centre, while the other involves 0.9648 hectares for the Shree Sharada Devi Educational Society.

Both sites are located within and adjacent to the Karnataka Forest Department Tree Park and are enclosed within a common boundary.

Field inspections carried out on 19 June 2025 revealed that extensive permanent and semi-permanent constructions had already been carried out on forest land.

At the site of the meditation and yoga center, inspectors documented a 72-foot-tall statue of Lord Shiva, a 22-foot-tall statue of Nandi, a pooja hall under the statue, cemented steps, paved interior paths and a 250-m-long access road. The total built-up area exceeds 22,000 square feet.

However, the violation is not limited to the statue. Officials noted some buildings and structures in violation of forest norms. There is a cement-paved assembly and parking area, landscaped gardens, internal roads, retaining walls, an incomplete mantapa, temporary shelters and a concrete driveway.

“These have fundamentally changed the character of reserved forest land,” the preliminary report states.

Meanwhile, several reports acknowledge the fact that the construction was started in 2017-18 without obtaining the mandatory permissions under the Forest (Conservation) Act.

The forest department registered an FIR in August 2017. However, construction continued despite this, as recorded by satellite images and observations by field workers.

Forest officials rejected a proposal for a Shiva and Sai theme park in the area in 2018. Despite this rejection, construction continued, followed years later by the submission of fresh proposals in 2024 seeking post-facto regularization. Both current proposals lack critical documentation, including detailed project reports, layout plans and land use details, and do not envisage any compensatory afforestation.

The ministry directed the state government to clarify the issue and submit action-taken reports.

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said he would study the reports before issuing suitable instructions to the officers.

“If violations are found, appropriate legal action will be taken against those involved,” he added.

Published – 27 May 2026 18:44 IST