Official laxity sees JLR land still in KSTDC ex-chief's name

It's 14 years since the transfer should have been effected

Trust our officials performing their duties with due diligence and all promptitude. Especially, those which involves safeguarding public property.

Presenting a classic example is Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation Limited (KSTDCL). The corporation was to have transferred five acres of land to Jungle Lodges and Resorts in Bandipur. It is 14 years since the transfer should have been effected.

However, the General Power of Attorney (GPA) and the deed, strangely, are still in the name of the corporation’s former Managing Director Vinay Luthra.

The State Tourism Department, in charge of the resort management, has till date not made any attempts to gain control of the said land.

Located in Malakamana Halli near Bandipur, it was transfered to JLR by KSTDCL for a price of Rs 1,70,478.

Currently Additional Chief Secretary for Tourism, Arvind Jhadav, heads Jungle Lodges and Resorts.

The grave lapse would have gone unnoticed even now, if not for an internal audit report, which objected to the said land being not in the name of JLR.

In their report, the auditors said: “The title deed of the land purchased by JLR at Malakamana Halli near Bandipur during 2005-06 for Rs 1,70,478, registered in the name of the GPA holder of the corporation’s then Managing Director, is yet to be transferred in the company’s name.”

The JLR management, however, said the transfer was in the process. Two years since the audit in 2013, the process is still underway, according to the management.
Luthra, currently Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), on his part, stating that he was not even aware of the issue, said, “I was never contacted by any JLR officials since leaving that post. We did purchase the land from KSTDCL as it was right in front of JLR properties. I did not know the land is still in my individual name.”

Citing the lapse could have been due to a ‘clerical’ error, JLR officials clarified that when a managing director signs on the dotted line, it is written as ‘Managing Director, JLR’. In this case, only Luthra’s name was mentioned and MD of JLR not printed on the paper. JLR Managing Director Sanjiv Mohan said they would rectify the error and transfer the khata to JLR’s name.

The present market value of five acre land, which houses 10 cottages for tourists, is estimated at over Rs 12 lakh per acre.