The imminent Telugu movie, Toxic, featuring Kannada star Yash, has found itself in stormy waters. However, it has emerged that some hundreds of trees have been chopped to make way for the film set, and now it’s a matter of controversy whether it is forest land or not.
The whole issue took course when Karnataka’s Forest Minister, Eshwar Khandre pointed out that the land in question, 599 acres, had been declared forest since 1896 and, under the law, remains forest land until any official notification to the contrary, not standing with the number of years of usage. In addition to that, HMT, the body in possession of the land, claimed outright ownership. The Forest Department is being rather tenacious and is asking for images from satellites to see a possible illegal felling of trees, for which the forest department has threatened to involve the cops.
The Karnataka government is looking to reclaim the few acres of land still falling under its control. In fact, last week, they got back five acres with the intention of making it as a green public space, similar to Cubbon Park in Bengaluru. The film currently is making sense in the argument for and against it – being in the center of a serious discussion with many environmentalists chiming in and fans eagerly waiting.
If environmentalists speak up and fans wait with bated breath, Toxic finds itself in the midst of stormy discussions. Hard to tell, but surely enough, Yash’s project is creating a wave before it’s even out!
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