Gulbarga MLA's wife lands in soup

The Assistant Commissioner of Gulbarga has nullified the purchase of land by the wife of Gulbarga North legislator, Qamarul Islam.

Kaniz Fatima had purchased 22 acres of agriculture land near Gulbarga. S K Kantha, former minister, had filed a complaint alleging that the purchase was illegal and violated Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961.

The Act prohibits purchase of agricultural land by any person other than an agriculturist. It also provides that the annual income of the purchaser or his/her family or of the undivided family from non-agricultural activities should not exceed Rs two lakh, for five years preceeding the year of purchase.

The Gulbarga tahsildar, in his report to the Assistant Commissioner, stated that Qamarul Islam runs schools and owns commercial complexes and hence the income of Fatima exceeded Rs two lakh per annum.

The respondent (Fatima) claimed that she purchased 6.27 acres in Tarahunase village in Bangalore North taluk during 2004-05 without submitting any record of owning agriculture land, the report said.

The Assistant Commissioner set aside the purchase of land by Fatima with an observation that the purchaser had violated the provisions of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act. He has directed the tahsildar to take over the land and mention Karnataka Government as the owner of the land.