Bengaluru: The HMT land row intensified Saturday with rural development and panchayat raj minister Eshwar B Khandre asserting that the north Bengaluru property is legally classified as forest land and will remain so unless lawfully diverted for non-forest use.Accepting union minister HD Kumaraswamy’s challenge to visit the site, Khandre said, “I am ready… but Kumaraswamy should not later accuse me of trespassing.”Questioning Kumaraswamy’s performance as union steel minister, Khandre asked, “What has been achieved in the last two years other than making baseless allegations against us (Congress)?”He also questioned why the National Mineral Development Corporation’s proposed steel plant at Veniveerapura in Ballari had remained stalled despite 2,857 acres being acquired a decade ago. “The project could have generated employment for 50,000 people. Who stopped it?” he said.Citing official records and Supreme Court rulings, Khandre, who served as the forest minister in the previous Siddaramaiah govt, challenged Kumaraswamy to prove the HMT land was not forest.“I have no personal animosity towards Kumaraswamy. My only objective is to reclaim the HMT forest land and preserve it as a lung space for a growing Bengaluru by developing a park larger than Lalbagh and Cubbon Park,” he said.
File photos showing dense vegetation on the HMT land in Bengaluru, which, according to the state government, demonstrate that the property retains its original forest characteristics.
File photos showing dense vegetation on the HMT land in Bengaluru, which, according to the state government, demonstrate that the property retains its original forest characteristics.
Calling the ownership dispute sub judice, Khandre clarified that the courts alone would decide the issue and maintained that notified forest land remains forest unless legally de-notified.Rejecting Kumaraswamy’s claim that the deputy conservator of forests (DCF) had merely issued a notice to HMT, Khandre said it was a quasi-judicial order under the Karnataka Forest Act after giving HMT an opportunity to present its case. He also cited a 2018 communication from the Union environment ministry rejecting Karnataka’s request for an NOC to sell the HMT land, saying the Centre had recognised it as forest governed by the Forest (Conservation) Act.Questioning Kumaraswamy’s HMT revival plan, Khandre said media reports suggested the company had sought to strike off its name from the register of companies. Referring to Kumaraswamy’s May 2025 announcement to revive the Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISL) in Bhadravati with an investment of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore, he said, “Not Rs 10,000 crore, not even 10 paise has come.”
