Kannada film star Yash (Naveen Kumar Gowda) has recently acted in a big budget film Poisonwhich is now controversial. The production of the film sparked an ongoing dispute between the Karnataka Forest Department and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) after hundreds of trees were cut down to make way for the film set.
On Tuesday, in a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Environment and Natural Resources minister Eshwar Khandre expressed concern over the 599-hectare forest area, which is now the HMT.
Originally declared as a reserved forest in a gazette notification, the land was given to HMT without any official reference. Citing the position of the Supreme Court that “if it is a forest, it remains a forest unless otherwise specified”, Khandre said that this area technically remains a forest.
His attempt to reclaim the land has drawn opposition from Minister of Industries and Metals, HD Kumaraswamy, who claims that HMT is the rightful owner.
Originally declared as a reserved forest in a gazette notification, the land was given to HMT without any official reference. (Google Earth screenshot)
Khandre’s letter also noted that HMT had rented the space for commercial purposes, including filming a production titled Toxic. He asked for satellite images to be compared to assess the extent of deforestation and verify whether permits have been issued. If the trees are cut without permission, Khandre asked that charges be filed for violation of the forest law.
Poisona Kannada thriller, directed by Geetu Mohandas with Yash in the lead role. It is expected to be released in April next year.
599 acres were designated as forest reserves in May 1896 and 1901. (Google Earth screengrab)
Last Friday, the Forest Department took the first step by re-acquiring five hectares of land of 599 hectares in Peenya farm survey number 1 and 2.
599 hectares were designated as reserve forest in May 1896 and 1901. But the Department of Forestry says that the land has never been defined as non-forest even though HMT claimed its ownership and sold 165 hectares of land to the government and private players.
The state government has said it will reclaim the land and turn it into a green space similar to Cubbon Park in north Bengaluru.