Forest department reclaims 5 acres of land in Peenya plantation

The forest department on Thursday reclaimed five acres of forest land from the public sector Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) in Peenya plantation. The department officials of the Bengaluru Urban Zone have now marked the land with a placard.

Notably, a couple of months ago, Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre directed the forest department to recover 599 acres of forest land at Peenya and Jalahalli in Bengaluru. A note issued by the Minister’s office underlined that the land was notified in 1896, but a large part of the land was illegally transferred to various individuals, organisations, and government bodies by HMT over the years.

He had also directed the forest officials to withdraw the interlocutory application (IA) filed illegally seeking permission for denotification that the said land had lost its forest character.

Meanwhile, HMT is reported to have sold more than 165 acres of forest land in its possession to various private and government agencies for just Rs 300 crore. Moreover, a mega park on the lines of Lalbagh has been proposed in Peenya plantation.