Siddaramaiah denotified 2.39 acres lung space land: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday, levelled fresh charges of land denotification against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of allowing a real estate project to come up on 2.39 acres meant for park and public amenity site near Bengaluru's Lalbagh.

"Siddaramaiah has denotified 2.39 acres on survey numbers 27/1, 28.4, 28/5 and 28/6 that was originally earmarked for a park or other public use. This was done to favour a private developer named Ashok Dhariwal," BJP leader R Ashoka, a former deputy chief minister, told a press conference here.

He also released documents to support his claim, including an Urban Development Department order dated November 18, 2014, allowing the land to be converted from its original purpose.  

"The file seeking conversion of land use was rejected by our previous chief minister Jagadish Shettar," Ashoka said. "The land in question is attached to Lalbagh and was meant to be a lung space. By denotifying it, Siddaramaiah has deprived Bengalureans of lung space. Now, a multi-crore realty project is coming up there," Ashoka said.

The BJP has demanded cancellation of the denotification. "We will make sure this reaches its logical end," Ashoka said.

In the past, the BJP has accused Siddaramaiah of denotifying 6.26 acres of land in Bengaluru's Bhoopasandra. The CM also faces charges of denotifying large tracts of land meant for the Arkavathy Layout.

Siddaramaiah has strongly rejected all charges.