The operation to retrieve the land encroached by some locals of Bhawani, Nahoti and Dharamsal villages was launched yesterday by the forest department officials.
In Bhawani village, 2.5 acres of forest land was retrieved by the forest department and the encroacher was booked by the department, an official spokesman said.
In Nahoti village, which falls under Sunderbani area, 14.5 acres of forest land was retrieved from the encroachers, , the spokesman said, adding that over 4 acres of land was also retrieved in Dharamsal area of the district.