The Karnataka forest ministry has sought authorized and disciplinary motion in opposition to two serving Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers for allegedly facilitating the handover of forest land price roughly Rs 14,000 crore – held by the general public sector firm Hindustan Machine Instruments (HMT) in Bengaluru – to 3rd events, together with personal entities.
Forest and Atmosphere Minister Eshwar Khandre introduced this week that the federal government had beneficial motion in opposition to two serving IFS officers, one retired IFS officer, and one retired IAS official for facilitating the submitting of an software within the Supreme Court docket “searching for permission for denotification of HMT forest land price over Rs 14,000 crore.”
The controversy pertains to 599 acres of land in a plantation within the Peenya Jalahalli area, which was declared a forest in 1896 and was later transferred to the general public sector HMT within the Nineteen Sixties to create industrial infrastructure by way of a donation deed by the Bengaluru district collector.
In recent times, giant parts of the land given to HMT by the forest division for industrial functions have allegedly been used to facilitate main actual property initiatives by way of the connivance of state and central authorities officers.
During the last yr, a dispute has arisen over the land between the Union heavy industries ministry headed by former Karnataka CM and Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Kumaraswamy – who’s monetising the land to resuscitate the fortunes of HMT – and the state forest division which is attempting to get well the HMT land by arguing that it stays a forest land.
“This plantation is owned by HMT. It’s unlawful for the organisation to promote to authorities departments/organisations and personal people. Nevertheless, the truth that forest officers didn’t make any try to get well the land and, with out even drawing the eye of the Cupboard, submitted an Interim Software (IA) to the Supreme Court docket searching for denotification in 2020 is a trigger for doubt,” the Karnataka forest minister had said earlier this yr.
Final yr, in November, the state authorities had issued notices to the forest officers involved over the submitting of the IA within the SC on the HMT forest land.
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In January this yr, the state authorities had ordered that since 281 acres of the 599 acres of land donated to HMT is vacant land “with none constructing”, the forest division should take possession of the vacant forest land.
Among the many forest officers in opposition to whom motion has been sought by the state authorities is IFS officer R Gokul, who was whistle blower within the unlawful mining rip-off in Karnataka in 2009-11 – when as deputy conservator of forests he reported the big scale exports by way of the Belekeri port of iron ore illegally excavated from the forests of Bellary by a mining mafia.
The opposite officers are former forest secretary Sandeep Dave, a retired IAS officer, retired IFS officer Vijay Kumar Gogo, and serving senior IFS officer Smita Bijoor.
The state authorities has additionally taken umbrage over the truth that IFS officer Gokul – who’s a chief conservator – has written to the CBI saying he’s being focused by the Congress authorities for bringing proof within the unlawful mining circumstances being prosecuted by the CBI in opposition to some political leaders in Karnataka.
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The land granted to HMT “is alienated, actual property corporations have constructed a whole lot of flats. Capturing of serials and movies is occurring. The land is getting used for industrial functions. How this was allowed is the query,” Forest Minister Khandre stated this week.
“The forest land within the possession of HMT is the property of seven crore Kannadigas, and some officers have utilized for denotification with out even bringing this to the eye of the then forest minister and with out searching for prior approval of the Cupboard,” Khandre added.
“Notices have been issued to 4 officers, together with two retired and two serving officers, and a advice for motion has been despatched to the chief minister,” he additional stated.
The forest minister stated that the IA submitted by the state in 2020 (through the tenure of the BJP authorities in Karnataka) contained false info because it stated that the land given to HMT had misplaced its forest nature.
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The knowledge on the submitting of the IA within the SC was not dropped at the discover of even a high-level committee headed by the chief secretary, which was created in 2015 to resolve the problem of forest land held by establishments in Bengaluru, the forest minister claimed.
He stated that simply 25 days after the submitting of the IA within the SC, on July 15, 2020, it was determined that the denotification of forest areas will be beneficial to the state cupboard by the extra chief secretary of the forest, surroundings, and biology division.
The forest minister stated {that a} file had been submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to droop IFS officer Gokul and to conduct a departmental inquiry in opposition to the opposite serving officer.
Whereas the Karnataka forest division has withdrawn the June 2020 affidavit filed within the Supreme Court docket on the character of the HMT land and has initiated measures to get well the land, Union Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy has indicated that there isn’t a query of returning the land underneath the management of the HMT manufacturing unit.
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Kumaraswamy has previously questioned the state authorities’s intentions in taking again the land granted to HMT. “What do they plan to do with the land in the event that they take it again from the manufacturing unit, and which builder do they intend to present it to?
“Who gave permission to promote 200 acres of land previously belonging to HMT? Who was in energy within the state from 1999 to 2004 (Congress tenure)? In 2006, after I turned chief minister, I ordered that even an inch of HMT land can’t be offered,” Kumaraswamy earlier said.