Tahsildar Inspects Alleged Land Encroachment in Kammachi

Tahsildar Bharat Raj visited Kammachi village under Garthikere Gram Panchayat near Rippanpete after residents alleged that private individuals had encroached on government land in the area.

The visit followed complaints that government land in Survey Number 73 of Gandralli village and Survey Number 05 of Kammachi village had been occupied by private parties. Acting on these allegations, the tahsildar inspected the disputed plots and examined the condition of the land on the spot before meeting with local residents to hear their grievances directly.

During the inspection, villagers told the tahsildar that Kammachi lacks adequate space for essential public facilities. They said the village urgently needs a cremation ground, a playground for children, and a community hall, but no suitable alternative land is available for these purposes. Residents urged the revenue administration to verify the status of the vacant government land and set it aside for village development and public use rather than allow continued private occupation.

Responding to the appeals, Bharat Raj assured villagers that the concerned land would be surveyed at the earliest and that further action would be taken based on the survey findings and a review of official land records. He indicated that the exact extent of the government land, its present condition, and the specifics of the encroachment allegations would be clarified only after this documentation process is complete.

Land disputes of this kind are common in rural Karnataka, where revenue records, decades-old survey numbers, and informal occupation by local residents often overlap. Tahsildars, as the senior-most revenue officers at the taluk level, are empowered to order resurveys, verify ownership through the Bhoomi land records system, and recommend action under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act when government land is found to be under unauthorised use. Once a survey confirms the boundaries of government land in Kammachi, the gram panchayat and taluk administration can consider allocating a portion for the cremation ground, playground, and community hall that villagers have been requesting.

For now, residents of Kammachi are hopeful that the tahsildar's visit marks the start of a resolution to a long-pending public land shortage in the village. Attention has now shifted to the revenue department's follow-up survey and the steps it takes once the ground verification is complete.