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.
