Task force inspects encroached land in Bannerghatta forest area

According to charges levelled by Bangalore Urban Zilla Panchayat President Bhagya Rajashekhar Reddy, nearly 50 acres of land was encroached upon by Bannerghatta Gram Panchayat former president Jayaram and was developed into layouts.
Based on this charge, the Chairman took into account the historical facts of the entire land bank in the Zilla Panchayat.

According to Balasubramaniam, nearly 143 out of 530 acres of land transferred from the erstwhile Mysore rulers to the Forest Department was legally given to the farmers belonging to Bhovi community.

The Chairman in his briefing said that, the Task Force will carry out a thorough investigation into the scam. “The land which belonged to the farmers rightfully cannot be touched,” he said. Refusing to take names of those involved in the land scam he said that only after the investigation can there be substantial evidence to hold anybody responsible.

It has been alleged that Bannerghatta GP former president Jayaram developed layouts on government land in Byatarayanadoddi and sold sites of different dimensions. The then Gram Panchayat secretary Shankar is also allegedly involved in the land deal.
The A T Ramaswamy Committee, which probed the encroachment of government land in and around Bangalore, noticed the development of illegal layout in Bannerghatta GP limits and directed the Revenue Department and the Forest Department to inquire into the matter.

However, there was no progress in the inquiry after the Committee was dissolved. A few members of the GP brought the land deal to the notice of the ZP chief in 2009. Preliminary inquiry by the Task Force has revealed that Jayaram bought a large extent of land in Byatarayanadoddi, and encroached upon the government land adjacent to his property. He developed three layouts - Atithi, Balaji and Venkateshwara, on the land and sold the sites.

Jayaram clarifies
Addressing the mediapersons Jayaram said that he had not encroached any land. “I am not the owner of Balaji, Athiti and Venkateswara Layouts. I have nothing to do with it,” he said.

Jayaram clarified that Bhagya Rajashekar Reddy was making politically motivated allegations.
“I am deeply hurt by these allegations,” he said.