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The Board’s chief executive officer (CEO) T Sham Bhatt approached the Lokayukta police last week alleging that some officials in the KIADB had issued land acquisition notices to the farmers in Pemmanahalli village on the letterhead of the Board. However, Bhatt has stated that no such official order was issued for any project in the said area.
The alleged malfeasance came to light when two farmers - Venkateshappa and Govindaiah - both of Nelamanagala, received fake notices and brought the matter to the notice of the Board.
Replying to their queries, KIADB stated that the officers were not authorised to issue the acquisition letters directly to the farmers and thus, the notices were not valid.
Spurt in land prices
The KIADB’s plan to acquire land in Pemmanahalli and other areas for the hazardous waste management Project led to a spike in land prices in the vicinity. The said land is located adjacent to Dobbspet industrial estate of KIADB, about 48 km to north west of Bangalore. This apart, the extent of land required for TSDF (treatment, storage and disposal facility) is 105.18 acres.
“When such huge extent of land is in demand it would definitely lead to misappropriation in many ways. The proposed hazardous waste management project has still not taken any shape. Taking advantage of this, some insiders might have leaked the information to their associates who planned to grab the land by issuing fake acquisition notices to the farmers”, said a senior officer at the KIADB.