PIL Filed by Namma Whitefield to Recover and Protect Bengaluru’s 711-Acre Kadugodi Forest
Namma Whitefield RWA Federation Trust has filed Public Interest Litigation (WP No. 21519/2026) before the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka seeking protection of the 711-acre Kadugodi Reserve Forest in Bengaluru from encroachment, illegal tree felling and diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
The PIL has been listed before the Hon’ble Chief Justice and Hon’ble Mrs. Justice K.S. Hemalekha in Court Hall No. 1 on 13 August 2026.
The petition names the State of Karnataka and other authorities, including KIADB, as respondents and seeks effective protection and restoration of the forest in the larger public interest.
The PIL comes amid serious concerns over the diversion and destruction of densely wooded portions of Kadugodi Reserve Forest, despite the Supreme Court’s May 2025 directions requiring diverted forest lands to be returned to the Forest Department and safeguarded.
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UPDATE of PROCEEDINGS:
Kadugodi Forest PIL — First Hearing
- The first hearing in the PIL concerning the 711-acre Kadugodi Plantation/Reserve Forest took place today before the PIL Bench of the Karnataka High Court.
- Senior Advocate Lakshmy Iyengar appeared for the petitioner, Namma Whitefield.
- The Karnataka High Court has ordered issue of notices to the Karnataka Government and the other respondent departments/agencies, including the Forest Department and KIADB.
📌 Next hearing: 19 November 2026
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SUMMARY OF PETITION:
The PIL seeks the protection and restoration of the entire 711-acre Kadugodi Forest in Survey No. 1, Kadugodi, Bengaluru.
The petition challenges the alleged diversion and acquisition of portions of the forest land by KIADB for industrial purposes, and the subsequent allotment/use of the land. It contends that the land has historically been notified and recorded as Government Plantation/forest and continues to be recorded in the RTC in the name of the Karnataka Forest Department.
The petition traces the legal history of the land back to the Mysore Forest Rules of 1878, notifications issued in 1889 and 1896, and the Mysore Forest Act, 1900. It contends that the forest character of the land was never lawfully extinguished and that subsequent diversion and allotment of the land had to comply with the applicable forest laws and, where required, obtain Central Government approval.
The PIL also challenges KIADB's acquisition proceedings from 1985 onwards, contending that Government forest land could not have been acquired and diverted for industrial purposes without the necessary legal processes, including de-notification and forest clearance.
There is also an urgent and ongoing threat on the ground. The petition records excavation, movement of heavy earth-moving machinery, commercial barricading, destruction of green cover and alteration of natural drainage in June 2026. Photographs from 1, 18 and 21 June have been placed before the Court.
Another important issue concerns approximately 120 acres reclaimed by the Forest Department. The petition states that the Revenue Department has subsequently claimed this land, resulting in a dispute between the Revenue and Forest Departments.
This assumes particular significance in light of the Supreme Court's May 2025 order in In Re: T.N. Godavarman Thirumalpad v. Union of India. The petition relies on the Supreme Court's directions concerning the restoration and protection of forest lands that had been diverted or transferred to other government departments. The PIL contends that these directions are directly relevant to the 120 acres reclaimed by the Forest Department and subsequently claimed by the Revenue Department.
At the heart of the PIL are important questions of law:
• Can land historically notified and recorded as forest be diverted for industrial purposes without following the statutory forest-clearance process?
• Could KIADB acquire and allot such land without lawful de-notification and the requisite Central Government approval?
• Does the land continue to enjoy forest protection irrespective of its present ownership or nomenclature?
• Are subsequent allotments, leases and transfers legally sustainable if the underlying diversion of forest land was not lawful?
Prayers:
- Namma Whitefield is seeking protection, preservation and restoration of the entire 711 acres, an end to further excavation, tree-felling and non-forest development, and judicial scrutiny of the acquisition, revenue, forest-clearance and inter-departmental records relating to the land.
- In essence, the PIL asks the High Court to determine whether a historically notified Government forest could lawfully have been acquired and diverted for industrial development — and, if not, to stop further destruction and restore the forest land to its legally protected status.
We will continue to fight to save Bengaluru's 711-acre Kadugodi Forest.
#GreatForestRobbery #SaveKadugodiForest #SaveBengaluru
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