BDA under scanner for compensating pvt individual for govt land

Bengaluru: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has come under the scanner for compensating a private person for acquiring government land in Kallahalli in the north part of the city.

A preliminary inquiry by the Bengaluru Urban district administration raised suspicions over involvement of multiple government officials as land records were tampered with to seek compensation.

The 1 acre and 20 gunta land was acquired to form the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout in May 2008.

BDA's Additional Land Acquisition Officer Basanthi BS and Deputy Commissioner Soujanya A issued the consent award in August 2022, granting about 14,375 square feet of developed sites to KV Rudramurthy, son of KP Virupakshayya.

The developed land — situated in Survey Number 8 of Kallahalli village in North Bengaluru — is worth over Rs 15 crore.

Forgery comes to the fore 

The original land records showed the 1 acre and 20 guntas of Kallahalli land as designated for Mufat Kaval Sarkari or gomala land (intended for grazing).

During the investigation, the district administration discovered alterations in handwritten pahani (land rights records), mutation registers, and other documents. The probe also raised suspicions regarding the participation of revenue officials and BDA officers in executing the elaborate forgery.

On scrutinising the pahani records from 1981 to 1988, revenue officials investigating the complaint discovered that a new page (pages 281 to 283) had been inserted to incorporate the name of Rudramurthy. Similar entries were identified in tax records and the mutation register of 1979-80, albeit lacking the tahsildar’s signature.

Officials also noted discrepancies in the entries, suggesting potential tampering.

Records revealed that the land initially belonged to one survey number and encompassed 27 acres and 37 guntas of government property. Interestingly, the computerised pahani records also indicated the land as government property.

Top officials also suspect the role of Bengaluru North tahsildar for giving an incomplete report in November 2023 without looking at the documents properly.

Sources told DH that the Bengaluru Urban district administration had written to the Revenue Department to take custody of the government land by directing the BDA to withdraw the allotment order.

"We are also considering review of all cases of land acquisition in the Kempegowda Layout," a senior revenue officer said.

BDA Commissioner N Jayaram was not available for comment.