Activist lodges complaint with Guv against CM Siddaramaiah over alleged illegal denotification of land allotted to poor

Mysuru: A Mysuru-based social activist on Tuesday has filed a complaint with Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of directing illegal denotification of lands allotted to the poor, back in 2008.

The lands were allotted to the poor under Ashraya houses, in Uttanahalli, on the outskirts of Mysuru city. The lands were allegedly denotified on the directions of Siddaramaiah, issued on August 10, 2008.

This is the second complaint with the Governor, against the CM. Earlier, Bengaluru-based social activist and advocate T J Abraham had sought the Governor’s permission, to prosecute Siddaramaiah, in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

The activist, Snehamayi Krishna, has forwarded the complaint to the Governor, urging for action against the CM and the officials concerned, through Mysuru Deputy Commissioner G Lakshmikantha Reddy, on August 2. The complaint came to light on Tuesday.

“A total of seven acres and one gunta of land, under survey numbers 44/1, 44/2, 42/3 and 205/2, were acquired for building houses, as per the Gazette notification, published on November 24, 1979, under the government scheme for the shelterless, in Uttanahalli village on the outskirts of Mysuru city, under Varuna hobli, Mysuru taluk. The beneficiaries did not construct houses, as no basic amenity was available there. The residential sites on 1.39 acres of land, under Survey number 205/2, were denotified after distribution to Ashraya scheme beneficiaries,” the complaint reads.

“In the Mahajar (spot inspection) document of the land, under Survey number 205/2, there is no mention of the date of spot inspection. There is no clarity, if Marappa is a successor to Kundabeeraiah. On August 10, 2008, then MLA Siddaramaiah wrote a letter (681/2008-09) to Mysuru DC, stating that Marappa bin Beeramma was cultivating 1.39 acres of land, under Survey number 205/2, and the land acquisition process should be dropped, as Marappa did not have any other means of livelihood. Why is Marappa identified with Beeramma, instead of his father? Is Beeramma his mother?” the complaint asks.

“Besides, cheating the poor beneficiaries, the name and identity of the owner of the land was changed, by creating fake documents, by the officials concerned. While the land originally belonged to Kundabeeraiah, documents were created, to prove that Marappa was the owner. Then the denotification was done on October 13, 2009,” the complaint reads.

The complaint urges the Governor, to direct the DC, to probe the issue, report in 15 days, file cases against those who have erred, and take action, to provide justice to the poor beneficiaries. “If the DC does not take action in the issue, action should be initiated against the DC too,” the complaint reads.