HMT land row: Karnataka govt issues notice to retd IAS officer, IFS officers

Bengaluru: The state government has issued notice to a retired IAS officer as well as serving IFS officers for filing an interlocutory application (IA) before the Supreme Court for the denotification of the Peenya Plantation land occupied by the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) Ltd.

The land, part of 599 acre Peenya Plantation, was declared as forest in 1896 and it subsequently acquired the legal status of a 'Reserved Forest'. The HMT had stated that the land was gifted to it by the then Government of Mysuru between 1960 and 1965.

The IA filed by the state of Karnataka on July 8, 2020, sought permission of the apex court to denotify 443 acres and 6 gunta of land  gifted to HMT.The company had sold 160 acre of the land in question to various parties for Rs 313.65 crore till 2011.

However, Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre had termed the filing of IA a mistake riddled with procedural errors. He had noted that the Forest Department had an obligation to protect lands notified as forest and directed the department to file another application before the court to withdraw the IA.

On Monday, the department issued notices to four persons. Retired IAS officer Sandeep Dave, then Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, Retired IFS officer Vijay Kumar Gogi, the then principal secretary of the department, senior IFS officers Smitha Bijjur (who also held the position of principal secretary) and R Gokul (then chief conservator of forest, Bengaluru circle).

The notice said that even when a forest land is given to a company for non-forest use, its legal status remains forest. "Under the Van (Sanrakshan) Adhiniyam, 1980, the company has to return the land, after the use, to the forest department even after paying net present value and compensatory afforestation," the notice said.

Stating that HMT was found selling the land given to it to government and private entities, the notice said such acts violate forest and revenue laws and negatively impacts forest conservation.

"In 2015, an eviction notice was issued to HMT and restrictions were imposed against sale of the land. On July 17, 2018, the chief secretary held a review meeting and stressed the need to save the much needed lung space in Bangalore. Additionally in a meeting on July 15, 2020, directions were given to get the opinion of advocate general placing before the cabinet proposals to denotify lands given to government and quasi-government organisations before 1980," it said.

The notice said despite the specific direction, the department moved to file an IA. "This is a violation of the rule and dereliction of duty," the notice added, seeking a response within seven days from the date of receipt.
One of the four persons who received the notice said the filing of IA itself doesn't amount to denotification. "The IA was meant to get the permission of the Supreme Court. After the permission, the matter has to be placed before the cabinet for denotification. Getting the court's permission in itself is not wrong," the official said.