JOIN US The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board has come under scanner for its shady land acquisition process at Kadugodi.
Sources in the district administration claimed that the Mysore Maharaja had reserved 711 acres of land as forest, handed it over to the forest department more than a century ago, which was gazetted later. However, over a period of time, due to the laxity of the government officials, approximately 400 acres were encroached upon by private people by creating bogus records.
When the KIADB wanted land to develop an industrial area in Kadugodi, it ‘acquired’ land from these encroachers and paid compensation to them without verifying with the revenue department about the title deeds of the land and what type of land they were. “All that the forest department now has is a mere 63 acres out of 711 acres,” said a senior district official.
It is learnt that houses and industries have come up on 300 acres, which the district authorities will recover.