Official in dock over Rs 500-crore govt land ‘allotment’
Bengaluru North asst commissioner accused of colluding with land sharks; Revenue Principal Secretary N Manjunatha Prasad recommends his suspension
BENGALURU:
Pandemic or no pandemic, the land mafia continues to thrive even as the real estate sector is in the doldrums.
An inquiry conducted by BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad in his capacity as Principal Secretary to the Revenue Department has revealed that Bengaluru North assistant commissioner K Ranganath colluded with some builders to allot 37 acres government land, worth Rs 500 crore, to some private parties.
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A Kannada news channel had aired a story on July 24 about government (‘gomala’) land being allotted to private parties without following due procedure. Following up, a surprise inspection by Prasad on Saturday at the assistant commissioner’s office found lapses in procedure.
The gomala lands are situated at Kannali, Lakshmipur, Kodigehalli, Gowdahalli and Bidarahalli in Bengaluru North taluk, Kailasahalli and Bhoganahalli in Bengaluru East Taluk, and Thimmasandra, Betta Halasur and Sathanur in Yelahanka taluk.
Ranganath served three months, from March 26 to June 26, as assistant commissioner in the Bengaluru North division office falling under the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner. During the lockdown period, he conducted hearings under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. “The 15 hearings were related to government land and the officer did not verify the original allotment documents before completing the hearings. Moreover, the assistant commissioner did not seek a report from the tahsildar, which was mandatory, before concluding the procedure,” Prasad stated in his report.
Prasad has sought suspension of Ranganath with immediate effect and has written to Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar in this regard. Further, in his letter to the Chief Secretary, Prasad has recommended that an appeal be made against the orders issued by Ranganath. “I have directed the concerned tahsildars to make an appeal before the Deputy Commissioner to conduct a hearing against the assistant commissioner’s orders. If necessary, I have directed that a case be filed with the Karnataka Land Grabbing Tribunal,” he added in his report.
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