KHB allowed touts to dupe farmers of compensation: Inquiry report

Report names 50 persons, including ex-chairman G T Deve Gowda

The Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) officials allowed middlemen to dupe around 40 farmers in Mysuru during the acquisition process of 450 acres of land for a housing project, an inquiry report by the Lokayukta police has revealed.

With the Lokayukta directing the Mysuru Lokayukta police to register a FIR in the case, former minister and sitting MLA from Chamundeshwari seat in Mysuru G T Deve Gowda, his family members and around 40 middlemen will face investigation in the swindling of Rs 31 crore of compensation money. The preliminary report has also recommended probe against IAS and KAS officers who had worked in KHB. The said irregularity had taken place when Gowda was the chairman of KHB.

The report, submitted to Upalokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi by Mysuru Lokayukta SP M Narayana, said that the scam could have been avoided had KHB interacted with the farmers losing land directly.

“The KHB officials never shared the actual compensation format, Rs 32.5 lakh per acre, with the farmers and allowed touts to thrive. Thus, land owners in Gungral Chatra, Kallur Naganahalli Kaval and Yalachanahalli were lured to give a General Power of Attorney to touts for a petty amount, while touts pocketed a large share of the compensation amount,” the report said.  

The report has named 50 persons, including Gowda, who was chairman of KHB between 2007 and 2010, his brother G T Yaduvar and son G T Harish. The report has also named Sridharan, senior manager of Corporation Bank, VV Mohalla branch, for conniving with touts to open bank accounts in the name of land owners.

The manager is the sole introducer to many accounts opened for the purpose of siphoning off the compensation amount, the report said.

“The real owners of the land received Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per acre as compensation, while the remaining Rs 25 lakh to 30 lakh was pocketed by the middlemen. The police will soon register FIRs against all 50 persons named in the report under Prevention of Corruption Act, IPC, Land Revenue Act, Karnataka Land Acquisition Act,” an official said.

The report said that the SP of the Mysuru Lokayukta police did not get a reply from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) on certain queries. The SP had written to the Principal Secretary of DPAR, seeking addresses and contact numbers of certain officials with the KHB at the time of acquisition. However, the details have not been furnished to this day, an official said.

The report has also recommended further probe against IAS officer M B Dyaberi (Commissioner KHB between 2008-2013) and KAS officers K B Devaraj (Chief Engineer, 2008-2009), B C Chandrashekhar (Secretary, 2006-2009) and special land acquisition officers Nagaraju and Rajamma Chowdareddy.

Justice Adi, who had directed the Mysuru Lokayukta police to hold a preliminary inquiry, told Deccan Herald that a detailed investigation will throw more light on the scam.

“I had visited Mysuru twice in connection with this case. The farmers gave their statement before me which was recorded as well. Even as the inquiry was going on, many farmers petitioned me saying there was threat to their lives. I visited Mysuru again and instructed the jurisdictional police to take action on their complaints,” he said. 

KHB officers named M Sannamallappa, Executive Engineer, M B Somashekar, Assistant Executive Engineer, B R Jagadeesh, Assistant Executive Engineer and M S Mahesh, Assistant Engineer.