The Rs 107cr land scam

Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board officers produce 'beneficiaries' for bogus industrial projects and mint money through fake land deals
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In a shocking revelation, the Lokayukta sleuths have unearthed a Rs 107-crore land acquisition scam involving several officials of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB).
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The accused allegedly forged records to pass off government land as private and pocketed huge sums of compensation money in lieu of acquisition.

The accused in the scam allegedly fabricated beneficiaries, on whose behalf the 'private' land was acquired for industrial projects.
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The building of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board in the city. Several officials of the board are involvedin Rs 107-crore land acquisition scam, which was unearthedu00a0 by Lokayukta sleuths

The compensation for the 'project affected persons' was then systematically diverted to their own bank accounts.

The Lokayukta officials, who have been investigating the scam for some time now, concentrated on the illegal land acquisition of government land at Jala Hobli in Bagalur, Devanahalli Taluk.

Under the guidance of SP Madhukar Shetty, the Lokayukta police raided KIADB offices in the area and residences of the officials.

Among the accused, five former Special Land Acquisition Officers (SLAOs) Anil Kumar, TP Muninarayanappa, Chikkabettaiah, Nagaraja NR and HS Ramakrishnappa have been booked in the case.

Lokayukta, Justice N Santosh Hegde said, "One of the beneficiaries of the largesse is the son of a powerful state politician." Hegde, however, refused to divulge the name.

"We had received several complaints about the scam in Bagalur. When we started investigating, we unearthed a fraud of over Rs 107 crore," he added.

Lokayukta raided the homes of six persons, including the five KIADB officers.

They seized bogus documents of the land deals from the unauthorised house of the sixth individual and recovered Rs 7 lakh, Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh from the houses of three of the five officers.

The accused have been booked under sections 420, 465, 471, 468 of the IPC as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Fake schemes

Aero Space
Areas covered: Dummanahalli, Singahalli, Hunasur, Honnahalli, Baladimmanahalli, Kavadadasanahalli, Bhattamaranahalli
Government land: 324 acres
Private land: 575 acres
Compensation: Rs 55 lakh to Rs 57 lakh per acreu00a0

Hardware Park:
Areas covered: Bandikodigehalli, Bagalur, Huvinayakanahalli, Mahadevakodigehalli
Government land: 672 acres
Private land: 645 acres
Compensation: Rs 31 lakh to 40 lakh per acre

IT Park:
Areas covered: Bandikodigehalli playa, Singahalli, Arebinnamangala, Gollahalli.
Government land: 643 acres
Private land: 385 acres
Compensation: Rs 65 lakh per acre

Tainted officers

Anil Kumar, former SLAO, Gandhinagar, who is now special deputy commissioner of Bangalore City, allegedly released Rs 6 crore as compensation.

The staff involved in the scam includes former managers Shankariah and Kenchaiah, managers N Lakshmi, Bairegowda, Nagabhushan, Mahalingaiah, Siddaiah Ramachandra and Appanna.

TP Muninarayana, now retired, had released compensation to the tune of Rs 37 crore.u00a0

Chikkabettaiah, now Assistant Commissioner of Gas Authority of India, has allegedly released compensation to the tune of Rs 3.7 crore.

NR Nagaraj, SLAO, Gandhinagar, allegedly released Rs 13 crore.

HS Ramakrishnappa, former SLAO, allegedly released Rs 6.5 crore as compensation.