Sadananda Gowda in a Soup Over Alleged Land Scam

They alleged that both former CMs Gowda and B S Yeddyurappa had allotted land indiscriminately to the RSS.

Union Minister for Law and Justice DV Sadananda Gowda. (Photo: TNM)

A complaint has been filed with the Lokayukta police against Union Minister for Law and Justice DV Sadananda Gowda under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Gowda is being accused of allegedly sanctioning 10 acres land in January 2012 when he served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

The complaint was filed with the Lokayukta SP by two persons, RTI activist Jayakumar Hiremath and Hanumegowda. The complaint has been filed against the union minister for allegedly allotting gomala land, which should have been used for public purpose, to Mythic Society.

Apart from Gowda, the activists also filed a complaint against Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath (BJP), the then Deputy Commissioner M K Aiyappa, Tahsildar Venkatesh and office bearers of Mythic Society.

What You Should Know?

• Complaint against Gowda for allegedly allotting a public land to Mythic Society.
  
• Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath (BJP), the then Deputy Commissioner M K Aiyappa, Tahsildar Venkatesh and office bearers of Mythic Society also booked.
  
• The market value of the land is about Rs 3 crore per acre whereas the government value is about Rs 60 lakh per acre.
  

There were cases filed against the disputed land in Survey No. 79, mostly comprising grazing land, and the government went into a quick-fix solution in getting a court decision to the case that went on between 2009 and 2011. We had sought information under the Right to Information Act five times but the government failed to supply any details about the land. The land is not meant for allotting to any private individual or any organization as per the rules. The society had also failed to submit the five years audit and accounts to the government, but the allotment was done within a couple of days of filing the application.

In the complaint Hiremath and Hanumegowda alleged that both former Karnataka chief ministers Gowda and B S Yeddyurappa had allotted land indiscriminately to the RSS when they served as chief ministers. The sanction of land to Mythic Society is one such instance.

The petitioners alleged the land, which was allotted in January 2012, was followed by a condition that it should be utilised within two years. However, in December 2014 the society wrote to the government that it had found a lot of encroachment on the land as boundaries was not fixed, reported The Times of India.

The complainants stated that the land, which was part of 103 acres of gomala land that is 18 km from Bengaluru, was undervalued. The market value of the land is about Rs 3 crore per acre whereas the government value is about Rs 60 lakh per acre.

This is an aggregated report from Deccan Herald, Times of India and The New Indian Express.