Over 300 BDA sites allotted in violation of norms, says panel

The Justice B Padmaraj Committee has found violation of norms in the allotment of 313 sites under the G (government) category by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and recommended that they be taken back.

The report has thrown light on the violation in allotment of G category sites by N Dharam Singh, H D Kumaraswamy and B S Yeddyurappa, during their tenure as chief ministers.
Advocate S Vasudeva had filed a public interest litigation and 313 people were made respondents in the case.

Besides Padmaraj, retired judge H Rangavittalachar and retired chief secretary P B Mahishi were on the inquiry panel. The report was submitted to the government on August 29. The panel recommended that sites where construction had not been taken up or those which had not been alienated till the inquiry was ordered should be taken back by the government.

Three persons – Vidya­prasanna Theertha Swamiji of Kukke Subramanya Mutt, H G Ramesh of Dollars’ Colony and M A Mohammed John –  were found to have alienated their sites. The government must recover double the guidance value of the site from them, the committee suggested.

Former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda and MLA D N Jeevaraj had undertaken construction at their sites. On January 2, the Supreme Court ordered maintaining the status quo on buildings constructed on the sites while staying the October 17 order of the Karnataka High Court to initiate action against the duo within three months. A woman had filed a petition alleging irregularities in allotment of sites and violation of rules in construction of buildings.

They moved the Supreme Court.  The report recommended that the government and the BDA should follow the apex court’s direction.

The committee also said the BDA should issue separate government orders for reclaiming every site. The properties should be taken back according to the high court order, the report said. The beneficiaries included 140 legislators, six MPs, relatives of the chief ministers, their associates, drivers, Group D employees at the secretariat and clerks. The report said they got the sites because of the chief ministers. The BDA had violated rules for distribution of the sites, the panel said.

The high court had directed the government to conduct a probe into the allotment. There were complaints of numerous violation. A three-member committee was set up on October 17, 2012, to probe into the allotment. Following the controversies and subsequent high court directives, the government stopped allotting the G Category sites in 2011.