CM seeks report on chief secy's 'role' in land encroachment

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday directed the Revenue Department to look into the reported involvement of Chief Secretary Aravind Jadhav in the encroachment of government land in Bengaluru Urban district and submit a report.

Official sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said Aravind Jadhav met Siddaramaiah and gave him an explanation on the issue. The chief minister was, however, not convinced and directed Revenue Department Principal Secretary E V Ramana Reddy to submit a report to him on the issue at the earliest, the sources added.

The revenue authorities had illegally initiated the process to create a new survey number – 29/1 – by amalgamating and deleting the existing survey numbers at Ramanayakanahalli, Sarjapur hobli, Anekal taluk, Bengaluru Urban district. This was done to favour certain private individuals, including Tarabai Maruthi Rao Jadhav, who is the mother of Aravind Jadhav, the sources added. Jadhav attained superannuation in June. But the government extended his term by three months. His term will end in September.

The issue came to light when IAS officer Munish Moudgil wrote an eight-page letter to the government recently, complaining that he was transferred from the post of Survey Settlement and Land Records commissioner as he had stopped the revenue authorities from completing the process of creating a new survey number.

The government will end up losing valuable land worth crores of rupees on survey number 29 of Ramanayakanahalli if the process is completed, he stated. The officer has revealed that the revenue authorities had blatantly flouted the law to build land records in favour of private individuals. On learning that the new survey number was created illegally, the tahsildar of Anekal taluk had recently asked the Bhoomi Monitoring Cell to change the Record of Rights, Crops and Tenancy (RTCs) illegally by using “inter-village RTC transfer” option in the software.

“The Sy No 29/1 was sought to be deleted while creating Sy No 29...The extent of government land would have reduced to 8 Acres 20 Guntas from the original 76 Acres 36 Guntas. In the circumstances this would have been illegal leading to loss of government land worth crores of rupees,” Moudgil stated in his letter.

The name of Tarabai Maruthi Rao Jadhav figures in the RTC records pertaining to illegally created survey number 29/1 of Ramanayakanahalli. Arvind Jadhav refused to speak to the media on this issue.

Complaint with ACB

A complaint has been filed with the Anti-Corruption Bureau against Chief Secretary Aravind Jadhav and other officials for alleged manipulation of government documents while getting ‘podi’ done for a property in the name of Jadhav’s mother Tarabai Maruthi Rao Jadhav.