A group of social activists and writers from Shivamogga have urged the State government to take back over 20,000 hectares of forest land from Mysore Paper Mills Ltd. (MPM) in Bhadravati and restore it with the Forest Department.
Under the banner of Nammurige Acacia Beda Horata Okkuta, a forum opposing the cultivation of acacia in Shivamogga, advocate K.P. Sripal, author and critic Rajendra Chenni, Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti State convener M. Gurumurthy, and others submitted a memorandum to Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa, who is also the Minister in charge of Shivamogga, on Monday.
The MPM in Bhadravati has stopped paper production since 2015. However, the company has over 20,000 hectares of forest land on lease for captive plantation acacia. The activists have been opposing the cultivation of acacia on the forest land and returning the land to the Forest Department.
When the forty-year lease period ended in August 2020, the activists urged the State government not to extend the lease and return the land. Interestingly, the then Leader of Opposition, Siddaramaiah, too wrote to the BJP government, supporting the activists’ demand. However, the BJP government extended the lease, despite the opposition.
Mr. Sripal said that it came to the attention of the activists that the government recently constituted an expert committee to seek opinion on allowing acacia cultivation, to make raw material for the industry. “If the government makes such a decision, the acacia cultivation will cause huge damage. In the absence of natural forests, wild animals enter human habitats,” he said. The forum has urged the government to withdraw the forest land located in parts of Shivamogga, Chitradurga, Chikkamagaluru, and Davangere districts and restore it with the Forest Department.
Mr. Madhu Bangarappa, who received the memorandum, assured the activists that he would bring the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and also make efforts for a meeting of the activists with him (CM).
