V Narayana Murthi | ENS Vellore THE Vellore Forest Division has removed encroachment by farmers from around 450 acres of forest land from border villages in Gudiyattam and Odugathur ranges in the past three months, thanks to the support given by the Village Forest Councils and local bodies. Except in Madigam village in Odugathur range, where the encroachers had resisted the eviction move, but later conceded, the oper ation, according to the Divional Forest Officer (DFO) T V Manjunatha, was smooth and productive. The division would be planting medicinal plants in a portion of the retrieved land in addition to 400 hectares of forest land, under a Rs 45 lakh grant from the National Medicinal Plant Board, attached to the Ministry of Health. Around two lakh saplings of the native species of redsanders and vengai (known for curative values for renal disorders, heart ailments and diabetes) would be planted under the scheme.