Take legal route to reclaim HMT land

Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre and Union Minister of Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy are locked in a slugfest over a prime piece of land in the possession of the public sector undertaking Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) in Bengaluru. According to Khandre, 599 acres were notified in the gazette as reserve forest in 1896. Of this, 469.32 acres were ‘illegally’ transferred to HMT in 1963 by the Bengaluru district administration, without the land being denotified for non-forest use. HMT, in turn, sold 201 acres to other Union government departments and even to private parties. About 280 acres are still vacant, and Khandre has issued an order to the forest department to reclaim this land, estimated to be worth Rs 10,000 crore. The government had initiated legal proceedings against HMT earlier, and the public sector undertaking had not filed an appeal. State forest department officials unilaterally filed an interlocutory application in the Supreme Court, without the approval of the Karnataka Cabinet, seeking denotification of the land sold by HMT. Khandre has directed that this application be withdrawn. On paper, the entire parcel including areas where buildings are constructed, remains forest land.

Kumaraswamy, who had recently convened a meeting of HMT officials to discuss the revival of the sick PSU, accuses the state government of indulging in petty politics to put a spanner in the works. He feels that the state should support his efforts to revive the company, which once controlled 80% of India’s watch market. Kumaraswamy suspects that the real motive behind the state government’s move to reclaim the property is to hand it over to private developers. While he argues that the state has forfeited its right over the land as HMT had paid Rs 7 lakh towards its purchase, Khandre denies this, saying there is no provision under the law to sell forest land.

Whatever the politics, it is clear that due process was not followed while granting the forest land to HMT. The purpose for which the land should be utilised would have been enunciated and it is obvious that HMT officials sold the land illegally, possibly with the collusion of the forest department and the blessings of politicians. Despite the efflux of time, a thorough inquiry is needed to bring accountability. Additionally, the state government should initiate legal proceedings to claim the unused land, and obtain a court order barring HMT from further alienating the land in its possession. Needless to say, once reclaimed, the land should be converted into a lung space, and not into another concrete jungle.