Bengaluru: The high court Monday ordered notices to state and central govts in response to a public interest litigation challenging the proposed shifting of Bengaluru Turf Club (BTC) to the sprawling 457-acre Kunigal Stud Farm.A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha also ordered notices to National Biodiversity Board, Karnataka State Biodiversity Board and BTC.The PIL filed by Bengaluru resident Vijay Nishanth claimed the history of Kunigal Stud Farm, the oldest in the country, could be traced to Tipu Sultan era, when it was used for breeding horses for his cavalry. The farm, he said, is an ecologically significant landholding consisting of grazing lands, heritage tree cover, fodder cultivation, flora and fauna, etc.The PIL claimed the stud farm is under threat pursuant to the March 6 govt order proposing shifting of BTC and allied activities. Introducing commercial and racing activities would lead to fragmentation of its integrated ecosystem and cause permanent ecological degradation, the petitioner said. He sought HC’s intervention to ensure preservation and protection of land.
