Encroachments have appeared in a 361-acre forest block near the Damagundam VLF naval station in Vikarabad district, despite a government order to protect the land as a precondition for the project's forest clearance.
The Eastern Naval Command is building the station on 1,174 hectares of the Damagundam reserve forest. The facility, the second of its kind in India, is scheduled to become operational by 2027.
A Ministry of Environment order required the state to retain 145.76 hectares of the remaining forest as a single block and fence it at the project's cost. About 10 acres of this block have been encroached, including land claimed by a resort and a farmer.
The Eastern Naval Command says the Forest Department must clear the encroachments before fencing can begin. District Forest Officer G. Gyaneshwar stated that work is underway and an old encroachment of four to five acres will be removed.
A public interest litigation remains pending in the Telangana High Court to monitor compliance with compensatory afforestation conditions.
