A large group of protesters gathered in Karnataka’s Shivamogga on Thursday, demonstrating against the state government’s decision to extend the lease for 20,000 hectares of forest land to private companies through the now-defunct Mysore Paper Mills (MPM). These 20,000 hectares of forest land are spread across four districts-- Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga and Davangere districts.
The protesters consisted of environmentalists, farmers and civil society members under the umbrella of Nammorige Acacia Beda Horata Samiti. They had initially planned to gather at the Chief Conservator of Forest’s office. Their plan was foiled by police, who were present in large numbers at the site, preventing the protestors from entering the building. The protestors however, continued with their demonstration behind the barricades in the vicinity.
While the MPM is a state government company (set up by the erstwhile Mysore kingdom), activists have raised concerns about how the government is looking to involve private companies in managing the forest lands through subcontracting.
A majority of the protesters demanded that the government return the land to the forest department, as the company is not only environmentally destructive but is also making losses. The MPM grows acacia trees in the land, which they use to source the wood needed to make paper. A majority of its employees have availed of the voluntary retirement scheme when the company stopped its day-to-day functioning in 2015. The previous lease of 40 years to MPM had expired in August 2020, but recently the government extended the lease to the company till 2026.
For years, the MPM has earned the ire of local residents in the region for creating a monoculture of acacia plantations and destroying the natural biodiversity. Some environmentalists had also gone to the Karnataka High Court to stop the company’s functioning on environmental grounds.
Akhilesh Chipli, a conservationist who took part in the protests, claimed that the High Court in its order had said at the time that the lease should not be extended.
“The MPM and the government was told it can’t go on damaging the environment and should do some balancing act by replanting natural local species. So even before the lease ended, we had met all leading politicians both in the government and the Opposition. So our agenda is clear, the government has to cancel this lease extension and return the forest land to the forest department,” he said.