Several plantation companies, including Tata Coffee, owe approximately Rs 2000 crore in lease rentals and interest to the Karnataka government for forest land leased since pre-Independence. These firms, cultivating coffee, tea, rubber, and pepper across regions like Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada, face legal action for non-payment. Leases, awarded during British rule for minimal rentals, continued post-Independence. Despite rental increases in 1997, some firms challenged this in court, accruing decades of unpaid dues.