Bid to grab govt land in B’luru, says BJP leader; complains to Lokayukta
Bengaluru (The Uttam Hindu): A complaint has been lodged with the Karnataka Lokayukta on Tuesday demanding a probe into an alleged bid to grab government land in Bengaluru by a Congress politician and officials attached to the Revenue Department. The complaint has been lodged in this regard by senior BJP leader and Anti-Corruption Forum President N.R. Ramesh. The complaint was submitted to the Lokayukta ADGP and a submission was also made to the Minister for Revenue, Krishna Byre Gowda.
“Politically influential persons and officials of the Revenue Department have colluded to take away government property worth more than Rs 1,600 crore,” Ramesh alleged. He also claimed to have submitted 204 pages of related documents with the complaint. Ramesh stated, “In Kengeri Village, Kengeri Hobli, Bengaluru South Taluk, Survey No. 69 comprises a total of 183 acres of government land. Of this, 37.20 acres were granted by the government in 1973 to 25 landless Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) individuals, with each receiving 1.20 acres. Many of these original allottees have since passed away. This valuable land, located adjacent to the BGS Hospital on the Uttarahalli-Kengeri Road, became the target of a conspiracy involving several political and financial influencers. With the assistance of corrupt Revenue Department officials, they fabricated fake documents and, in blatant violation of the law, succeeded in illegally capturing the land.”
The current market value of the 37.20 acres (16,33,500 sq. ft.) of Survey No. 69 is estimated to exceed Rs 1,600 crore, with a minimum market rate of Rs 10,000 per sq. ft., Ramesh claimed. “Nevertheless, political influencers led by K.N. Surendra, in collusion with corrupt revenue officials, devised a plan to illegally acquire this valuable land. K.N. Surendra, the owner of KNS Residency, a land development firm with offices on Vijayanagar Service Road, orchestrated the scheme with the backing of influential politicians, including Congress MLA from Magadi, H.C. Balakrishna,” Ramesh alleged.
He further charged, “This land, classified as ‘government rocky land,’ cannot legally be sold to private individuals. Despite this, officials such as Bangalore South Taluk Tahsildars Dinesh and Ram Lakshman, Special Tahsildar Gururaj, and others cooperated in the scam, preparing fake documents and processing requests within 15 days — a stark contrast to the usual delays faced by the public.”
A complaint has been filed with the Lokayukta under the BNS 2023 for corruption, forgery, conspiracy, fraud, and misuse of power. Ramesh further demanded that this case be subjected to a high-level judicial or CID investigation. “Finally, immediate steps are requested to protect the land, including erecting security fencing, to ensure that not an inch of this government property falls into the hands of land grabbers,” he urged.
