Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition Jagadish Shettar on Friday demanded the state government order Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into the encroachment of government land worth Rs 300 crore and register a criminal case against the culprits.
Speaking with media persons here, Jagadish Shettar said JD(S) MLC C R Manohar and 41 others have encroached 67 acres of government land (survey no. 17) at Adigarakallahalli of Sarjapura hobli in Anekal taluk. “The land was encroached by Remco BHEL House Building Cooperative Society to develop 4th phase of the layout. The society had entered into an agreement with Lions Estate & Properties owned by C R Manohar. The society had agreed to pay Rs 121,87,50,000 to Lions Estate & Properties for developing the fourth phase of the layout,” Shettar said.

The board of directors of Remco BHEL House Building Cooperative Society had collected Rs 24.65 crore from the members as advance payment from the applicants in 2009. “The society had collected money from the applicants (members of the society) but did not allot the sites to them,” Shettar said.

He said the Remco BHEL House Building Cooperative Society had allocated sites on the encroached land to some of the members of the socety thus incurring a huge loss to the state exchequer. “It is a muti-crore scam. The directors of Remco House Building Cooperative Society have paid advance to Manohar for the development of the fourth phase of the layout. The society had illegally registered the sites and caused a huge loss to the government,” he said.

Blames DC

Coming down heavily on Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner V Shankar for not taking action against those encroached the government land despite tahsildar’s report on the encroachment of the government land, Jagadish Shettar said that he suspects Deputy Commissioner Shankar’s integrity. “We are all aware how the Deputy Commissioner had demolished hundreds of buildings that were allegedly constructed on the storm water drains in Bengaluru. I want to know what has made him not to take action against the encroachers. The tahsildar had sent the report on September 15, 2015 on the encroachment of the government land. The tahsildar had also recommended the Deputy Commissioner to take strict action against those encroached the government land. It is almost a year since the Deputy Commissioner received the report from the tahsildar. I want to know why the DC is silent on this issue,’’ he said.

The BJP leader said that he had already wrote letters to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa to take action against the culprits for encroaching the government land.