Housing minister accused of grabbing govt land worth Rs 350 cr

BJP leader N R Ramesh on Thursday accused Housing Minister M Krishnappa of grabbing four-and-a-half acres of government land worth Rs 350 crore to form ‘Blue Jay Aristo Layout’ on Bannerghatta Road in Jayanagar ward under the Chickpet Assembly constituency, in Bengaluru.

Addressing a press conference here, Ramesh said the layout is coming up in survey number 51/1, 51/2, 51/3A, 51/3B and 51/3C of Byrasandra village.

“About 150 acres of government land, spread in 24 different survey numbers, have been mutated. Among them, parts of survey number 51, is a lake land. It is the Byrasandra lake. The layout has been formed by illegally occupying it,” said Ramesh.

He said Bismillanagar near the Blue Jay Aristo Layout is also on the Byrasandra lake. He alleged that a complaint has been already lodged against the minister for grabbing hundreds of acres of Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple land in Tavarekere hobli on the outskirts of the city.

The BJP leader demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should immediately remove Krishnappa from the Cabinet and ensure a fair investigation into the case. He said the district administration should enquire into the matter and initiate action against the officers involved in the fraud.

Ramesh said he has already complained to the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force and the Special Court for Government Land Grabbing cases.

Commotion at presser
The executive director of the Blue Jay Aristo Layout project R Dayananda along with his lawyer Aravind Patil and a ‘social worker’ Chikka Thimmaiah were present in the press conference in the guise of reporters.

When the press conference was in progress, Dayananda and others stood up seeking explanation from Ramesh. They said the BJP leader was twisting the facts and making malicious allegation against Krishnappa and farmers who legally own the land in Byrasandra as well as in Tavarekere hobli. Later, the trio was asked to vacate the place.

Speaking to reporters outside the venue of the press conference, Dayananda said, “Survey number 19/2 and 51/2 entirely belongs to Krishnappa and there are no controversies pertaining to it. We have documents to prove it. We will file a defamation case against Ramesh.”