Act, recover government lands

The resignation of JD(S) MLA A T Ramaswamy as chairman of the assurances committee of the legislature protesting against the apathy of the government over a land-grabbing case in Bengaluru once again highlights the power that the land mafia wields over politicians and bureaucrats. The issue pertains to the transfer of about 300 acres of government land to private parties by the Bengaluru (South) special deputy commissioner, reversing the ruling of his predecessor. When the issue was raised by Ramaswamy at the Belagavi session recently, the government had admitted that the deputy commissioner was at fault and had assured the people on the floor of the House that the land would be protected at all costs, only to then go back on its word. Ramaswamy had earlier headed the joint legislature committee (JLC) on encroachment of government lands in Bengaluru (Urban) district and submitted a detailed report in 2007, which continues to gather dust, with successive governments finding it too hot to handle, given the big names involved. The report, identifying specific cases of land-grab, had found that over 27,000 acres of government land, conservatively valued at Rs 40,000 crore, had been encroached by private developers.

While the poor who encroach small patches of land for shelter are evicted without notice and their huts demolished, land-grabbers are successful in establishing their ownership by creating fake records with the connivance of the revenue department, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and local panchayats. The nexus between builders and the administration is so deep-rooted that the former Karnataka High Court judge Shailendra Kumar had made the sweeping observation, “All sub-registrars and special deputy commissioners in Bengaluru are corrupt.”

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy should demonstrate that he, too, is not in the clutches of the landsharks by ordering the immediate implementation of the JLC report, recovering all encroached land and initiating criminal proceedings against the officers responsible. Considering the magnitude of the problem and the involvement of the high and mighty, a permanent JLC on the lines of the public accounts committee or privileges committee should be set up to constantly monitor various departments and curtail land-grabbing, as recommended by the task force for the recovery and protection of government lands, headed by retired IAS officer V Balasubramanian. But first, a proper survey of the entire Bengaluru region should be conducted to clearly determine land titles and protect government property. This will also ensure that the gullible public is not cheated by developers. The government’s failure to act with alacrity against encroachments will only sound the death knell for the city which is already crumbling under the weight of its unplanned growth.