Shivamogga: In a shocking escalation of the land rights conflict in Malnad region, the family of a veteran socialist leader and former MLA Konandur Lingappa — a close ideological contemporary to leaders like chief minister Siddaramaiah — is facing the loss of its ancestral property. The ‘Land to the Tiller’ (Uluvavane Holadodeya) movement, which Lingappa championed alongside the legendary Shantaveri Gopala Gowda, now faces a bitter irony as his own family’s cultivated land is reclaimed by the forest department.The state govt recently honoured former MLA with the Devaraj Urs award for his service. The incident unfolded in Melinakadugodu village, Thirthahalli taluk. Forest officials from the Arasalu division entered survey Nos 48 and 51, using heavy machinery to dig border trenches through an old areca nut plantation. This land, granted to Lingappa’s mother in 1964, is now categorised as forest encroachment despite its legal ‘Patta’ status.The former MLA’s family members expressed a profound sense of betrayal, noting that while the land was partitioned among three children, the department moved to cancel the Khata for approximately 8.9 acres. The situation has reached a ‘new high’ in tension. A family member, requesting anonymity, alleged that officials destroyed pipelines and plantations on a tract of land they claimed was recently cultivated.However, department officials argued this constitutes fresh encroachment. Speaking to the reporters, DCF GR Ajjaiah clarified that the original allotted land remains intact, and the department sought cancellation of tracts following the court directions. He further noted that the reclamation of the fresh encroachment was conducted months ago, only after obtaining consent from Lingappa’s son, he said.
