'KIADB sold land illegally during HDK tenure'

When Kumaraswamy was the chief minister, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board

(KIADB) had allegedly illegally sold 28 acres of prime industrial land in Sarjapur to a private firm at a throwaway price.

Among the beneficiaries of the largesse are his brother H D Balakrishne Gowda, his wife Kavita and her brother Ravindra. After obtaining the sale deed from the KIADB for the land, the firm allegedly sold a portion of the plot to Kumaraswamy’s kin at a cheap rate. As per the documents made available to the media, the KIADB allotted 28 acres to Primal Projects Private Ltd owned by Congress leader Kupendra Reddy in 2003 to develop an IT park. The land was allotted on lease-cum-sale basis. The KIADB executed the sale deed in favour of the company in 2007 when Kumaraswamy was the chief minister. The company paid only Rs 14 crore for the land, while the market value was several hundred crores of rupees.

As per the rules, the KIADB cannot execute the sale deed for a minimum eight years.

Moreover, the sale deed should be executed only if the company has fulfilled the condition of setting up the industrial project. The company, subsequently, sold 25,000 sq ft of built-up area to H D Balakrishne Gowda for Rs 1,200 per sq ft against the market value of Rs 4,000 per sq ft. Similarly, his wife Kavita and her brother Ravindra bought 5,000 sq ft each at a throwaway price. Kumaraswamy has, however, said he neither ordered the KIADB to issue the sale deed to the company nor was he  holding the Commerce and Industries portfolio at that time. Katta Subramanya Naidu of the BJP was the Industry Minister in 2007, he added.