At a time when opposing political power can lead to job loss, Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Yedukondalu V is bravely taking a stand. Currently serving as the conservator of forest in Hassan, this officer from the 2011 batch has always been committed to his duty of protecting forest land.
Yedukondalu has carried out eviction drives of illegal forest encroachment to the tune of more than 3,500 acres in the last 14 years across Kolar, Tumakuru, Hassan and Chamarajanagar in Karnataka, thus restoring such lands for forest activities only.
From properties belonging to high-profile legislators to ministers and even parliamentarians, Yedukondalu is known as the ‘demolition man’ who has returned several acres of encroached property back to the forest department.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Yedukondalu, 45, said, “Wherever I am posted, my primary goal will be to recover the encroached forest lands in favour of the forest department.”
On a single day, he cleared 600 acres of encroached forest land. (Express Photo)
When the forest department officers were mostly carrying out plantation drives as their primary goal, Yedukondalu changed the entire dynamics. He believes a forest officer’s primary goal should be to clear the encroached forest land and conserve it for future generations to cherish.
Yedukondalu credits his dedication and love for nature to his days in a gurukula in Vijayawada in Andhra. “I hail from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. Belonging to a lower-middle-income family, I couldn’t afford education. I enrolled in a gurukula-style education programme in the fifth standard at one of the gurukulas established by the late actor and chief minister, N T Rama Rao.”
“I was associated with Gurukulas till the 12th grade. During this period, I developed an inclination towards nature, love for forests, and concern for society that shaped most of my personality and who I am today,” said Yedukondalu.
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“Influential individuals are illegally encroaching on forest lands, lakes, and riverbeds through fraudulent means, destroying these vital ecosystems. As a forest officer, I believe, we must protect these shared natural resources to prevent climate change, which disproportionately impacts the poor, farmers, and marginalised communities who lack the financial means to cope,” the officer added.
Yedukondalu’s working style is simple: outsmart the political bosses and their lawyers. The officer believes in meeting communities, lawyers, people and gathering support from the right stakeholders ahead of carrying out anti-encroachment drives. However, he is also at the receiving end of several legal actions and complaints, including eight contempt of court cases, atrocity cases, for being ‘ruthless’ in taking down encroached properties on forest land.
Anti-encroachment drive in Kolar
He is credited with the anti-encroachment drive in Kolar district in 2024. As a deputy conservator of forest (DCF) in Kolar, Yedukondalu has cleared 2850 acres of encroached forest land. These properties belonged to some of the state’s popular ministers, legislators and also parliamentarians. This spanned nine reserved forest areas across 50-60 villages.
On a single day, he cleared 600 acres of encroached forest land. In Malur, about 50 km from Bengaluru, he cleared over 360 acres of industrial land worth over Rs 3000 crore. In total, he has reclaimed land with properties worth over Rs 10,000 crore back to the forest department. However, as the government would have it, he was transferred out of the district a year later and was posted to Hassan.
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His first posting, however, was in 2011, where, as an Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) in the Koppa forest division of Chikmagalur district, he played a key role in evicting a tea estate encroaching on forest land.
In 2016, Yedukondalu introduced the state’s first early warning system to detect elephant movement when he was posted as DCF in Madikeri. An initiative in partnership with Tata Coffee, it alerts plantation workers to elephant movement via bulk WhatsApp messages. This also helped consolidate elephants and prevent man-elephant conflict in the region to a great extent. In fact, this initiative was the precursor to all the early warning systems in Karnataka currently.
In 2017, as a DCF in the Mysore wildlife division, he conducted the iconic Dasara procession involving elephants. Importantly, he was also instrumental in conducting the first bird census at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, to earn a Ramsar Site for the sanctuary. Ramsar sites refer to sites listed on the List of Wetlands of International. Subsequently, the sanctuary was designated on February 15, 2022, as a protected Ramsar site.
In 2022, as DCF at Male Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district, Yedukondalu introduced the pioneering ‘Jana-Vana Sethuve’ initiative. This programme deployed multi-purpose vehicles serving as ambulances, school buses, ration carriers, and transport for remote villages within and around the sanctuary.
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Designed to provide last-mile connectivity, it transformed the lives of forest dwellers previously reliant on walking or bullock carts, including pregnant women. The initiative benefited over 5,000 people across 15 tribal hamlets, enhancing access to essential services.
He also played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Bamboo Producer Unit in Poonachi, MM Hills, in 2021. Collaborating with the Industree Foundation, USAID, the Karnataka Chapter of the National Bamboo Mission, and Soliga Abhivruddhi Sangha, he supported this initiative under the ‘Producer-Owned Women Enterprises’ (POWER) project, aimed at fostering women-owned collectives in the bamboo value chain.
His efforts helped empower women artisans and forest dwellers by promoting sustainable livelihoods, aligning with his broader commitment to community welfare and environmental conservation in the region.
“However, the biggest setback came when we worked hard and prepared the ground for recognising MM Hills as a tiger reserve. Just when the issue was supposed to come before the cabinet meeting, I was transferred out. All the work was derailed and the region still awaits its tiger reserve tag,” said Yedukondalu.
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Currently serving as a CF in Hassan, the officer has carried out more than 600 acres of anti-encroachment drives in both Hassan and Tumakuru forest divisions. Additionally, Hassan, being one of the state’s notorious places for man-animal conflict involving elephants, has installed around 600 AI-enabled cameras across sensitive areas in the division for better monitoring.
He was instrumental in leading rescue operations involving six-seven elephants and advocating the message of ‘coexistence’ to prevent man-animal conflict. “Through thermal cameras and AI-enabled cameras, we can provide real-time data to communities, farmers and other people about elephant movement that will prevent conflict deaths to a great extent,” said Yedukondalu.
Reflecting on his journey, Yedukondalu says he will continue to champion for forest land and ensure its conservation for the upcoming generation to enjoy.
To date, a lot of influential people have made efforts to reduce my speed of work and break my integrity. But I have always believed in carrying out my duty with dedication and without distraction, which has kept me ahead of my detractors,” he said.
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“Without forest preservation, there would be no intergenerational justice served for the future generation.”