BENGALURU: A dispute regarding the 599-acre forest land in the Peenya-Jalahalli area, currently held by PSU Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT), has escalated dramatically. Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has accused the film crew of Sandalwood’s Rocking Star Yash of illegally cutting down ‘hundreds of trees’ for the movie “Toxic.” Following a visit to the site, Khandre directed officials to take strict legal action against those who permitted the tree removal and to file forest offence cases against individuals involved.
He highlighted that the area has been declared a ‘reserved forest’ and criticized HMT for allegedly renting out portions of the land for film shoots and other non-forest activities without proper permissions. Khandre’s letter to the additional chief secretary emphasized the need for an investigation into the tree cutting by comparing satellite images and holding accountable any forest officials who authorized the actions. The situation has sparked backlash from Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who defends HMT’s claim to the land.
Read More: