By: S. Harpal Singh
Forest Department recommends the Union Government for approval of the road widening proposal
Widening of the 22 km Hatti-Jodeghat road in Kerameri mandal of Adilabad district is a distinct possibility now what with the Forest Department recommended the Union Government for approval of the proposal.
The stretch of road which leads to the village of Jodeghat will soon become a seven-meter-wide blacktopped facility as part of the State government’s plan to develop this place into a tourist spot with historical significance. Jodeghat, where the legendary Gond tribe leader Kumram Bheem attained martyrdom in September 1940, will have a tribal museum and a memorial for the martyr.
It was none other than Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao who had announced plans to develop the remote environmental haven as a place of tourist interest.
There was some doubt over permission being accorded for laying a new road as a major chunk of the area falls under Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR). The department had to do a lot of exercise to identify an alignment which makes it possible for the road to be widened without any further disturbance to the greenery on the flanks.
“The present road itself was laid in violation of relevant Forest Laws. We had to conduct a survey to ensure that no more damage is caused to the environment,” says Adilabad Chief Conservator of Forests, T.P. Thimma Reddy. The survey or exercise to identify a proper alignment for the road interestingly included careful study of the history of the place by Forest officials.
The department dug out old files related to the place and went in for translations from Urdu to English to get a proper understanding.
“Jodeghat has been mentioned as an abandoned village in Dhanora Reserve Forest as per the Gazette No. 45 dated November 27 of 1355 Fasli or 1945 AD as notified under section 19 of the Hyderabad Forest Act.
There was no Gairan or pasture land in this village which was a proof of there being no cultivation around the village at that time,” the top Forest official says referring to the old files.
Encroachments
Encroachments however, began to appear in the following years and the government inter alia issued GO Ms. 1000 F&A on July 6, 1972 regularising all pre 1964 encroachments in an extent of 180 acres which was subsequently handed over to the Revenue Department.
Source: The Hindu