The Karnataka high court has permitted Kannada actor Ganesh to resume construction of his house in Jakkali village, situated in the Bandipur eco sensitive zone. Ganesh owns 1.24 acres of land in Jakkali village, where he had initiated the construction work, which had faced opposition from environmentalists.
The high court’s verdict delivered on Friday allows Ganesh to proceed with the ongoing construction on his property. However, the court imposed a pre-condition that if any future orders necessitate the evacuation of the building at any stage, it must be vacated. This condition underscores that the construction of the building is subject to the final decision of the petition.
On August 14, the forest department had served a notice to the actor and ordered a halt to the construction of the house, prompting Ganesh to approach the high court for intervention. The court directed Ganesh to seek advice from the forest department and the monitoring committee of the Bandipur environmental sensitive zone.
During the recent hearing, a single judge bench headed by justice S Krishna considered a memo submitted by actor Ganesh. Advocate Sridhar Prabhu, who represented the petitioner, highlighted a Supreme Court order from 2023, stating that there were no restrictions on building construction. He argued that the Forest Department had no authority to regulate or prohibit such construction and assured the bench that the building would be vacated if any fault was found on the part of the applicant.
In response, Advocate General K Sasikiran Shetty objected, citing the Supreme Court judgment that only permitted the construction of temporary buildings. The bench questioned the Forest Department’s authority to allow someone else to construct a building under these circumstances, considering the new documents submitted by the applicant.
{{/usCountry}}In response, Advocate General K Sasikiran Shetty objected, citing the Supreme Court judgment that only permitted the construction of temporary buildings. The bench questioned the Forest Department’s authority to allow someone else to construct a building under these circumstances, considering the new documents submitted by the applicant.
{{/usCountry}}Furthermore, the bench directed the petitioner to file a petition with the Environment Sensitive Zone Monitoring Committee (ESZMC) through advocate general. and posted the hearing of the application on September 12 next.
‘”We will follow the orders of the court,’’ Bandipur tiger reserve director Ramesh Kumar told HT. He said the forest department has powers to evict any kind of unauthorised permanent structure as the permission was given to construct only temporary structures.