BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Monday issued notices to the state and centre on a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenges a March 6 order issued by the state’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. The order was for the allotment of 110 acres and 20 guntas of land at the Kunigal Stud Farm to Bangalore Turf Club Limited (BTCL) on a long-term lease to shift or establish a racecourse and related activities.
A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha passed the order after hearing the petition filed by Vijay Nishanth, who is an urban conservationist and environmental activist of the city. The impugned order is vitiated by complete non-application of the Environment Impact Assessment notification, 2006, the petitioner alleged.
The notice was issued to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Union of India, Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, State of Karnataka, National Biodiversity Authority, Karnataka State Biodiversity Board, Bangalore Turf Club Limited and United Racing and Bloodstock Breeders Limited.
The petitioner said the Kunigal Stud Farm spans about 469 acres in Tumakuru and is more than just a horse breeding centre. It also supports horse training, breeding and other equine-related activities. Diverting or reducing the farm’s land would affect the wider ecosystem, including police, military, ceremonial and sporting uses of horses, the petitioner alleged.
A study underscores that the farm is an ecologically sensitive and valuable landscape and identifies its continued preservation as essential to maintaining biodiversity, environmental balance, and long-term ecological sustainability. The impugned order issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry is contrary to its very aims and objectives, the petitioner alleged.