Filming in Karnataka’s forests will now require government approval from higher authorities and clearance from local officials is not sufficient, Forest, Ecology, and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre announced, citing the need to prevent environmental violations. In a letter addressed to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest, Ecology, and Environment Department, dated January 20, Minister Khandre said that prior government permission is mandatory for all filming activities in forested areas, including movies, documentaries, and television serials. The Minister said that the Forest Department had been granting permissions at the local level, but they had observed lapses in monitoring and compliance. He said that approval will now have to be taken from senior officials from the Forest Department.
The directive comes after controversies involving Kannada films Toxic and Kantara: Chapter 1, where production crews allegedly violated environmental norms. The Toxic team was accused of unauthorised tree cutting in Bengaluru’s Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) premises at Peenya, while the Kantara crew allegedly used explosives and exceeded permitted boundaries in the Yeslur forest range of Hassan district.
The government has also outlined additional measures to safeguard forest ecosystems during filming.
The Minister expressed concern over local-level authorities independently approving filming requests, warning that such practices could expose sensitive forest information to the public, posing risks to both the environment and biodiversity.