The Hindu : Irregularities detected in KIADB dealings

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 02, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Irregularities detected in KIADB dealings

By T.S.Ranganna

Bangalore May 1. The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), which has the responsibility of acquiring, developing, and allotting land for industrial purposes, has failed to allot 5,740 acres of prime land valued at Rs. 313 crore, for more than 30 years.

According to sources, the board acquired 28,988 acres, but developed only 25,840 acres, and 21,669 acres was available for allotment. The board allotted only 15,929 acres, leaving 5,740 acres, which was almost 25 per cent of the land developed by it, un-allotted for over three decades. The price of the un-allotted land is Rs. 313.40 crore.

The mysterious thing in the whole exercise is that 854 acres was de-notified after completing the acquisition process, resulting in wasteful administrative expenditure of Rs. 3.63 crore. The sources say it is evident that acquisition and development of land was carried out without conducting a survey on the demand for land.

In 1993, the State Government approved the participation of the board in the Information Technology Park Ltd. (ITPL) promoted by the Tata group and a Singapore consortium.

The board was to provide 68 acres of land worth Rs. 17.63 crore for the proposed joint venture. It handed over the land for the project in 1998. Although the Government was committed to providing only land for the project, the board paid Rs. 1.45 crore to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for obtaining approval for the development plan.

The Chief Executive Officer and Executive Member of the board, in his letter in April 2002, stated that when the project was conceptualised, it was promised that the land duly converted would be handed over to ITPL. Instead of the board paying the development charges as per the assurance, only 50 per cent was paid.

The sources say this reply is not tenable as the Government sanction of 1993 gave the assurance of only authorising the BDA to consider the change of land use as per its rules and did not give any commitment to bear the development charges. The board, it is alleged, showed undue favour to ITPL by paying the development charges of Rs. 1.45 crore.

In another irregularity, the board paid compensation for "kharab" land acquired for a public purpose.

There is no need to pay compensation under the Karnataka (Regularisation of Unauthorised Occupation of Land) Rules, 1970. But the special land acquisition officer of the board in Dharwad paid Rs. 1.56 crore as compensation for 115 acres of "kharab" land acquired for the Dharwad Growth Centre in 2000.

While furnishing the names of officers responsible for the payment, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Member of the board stated that the matter had been taken up with the Principal Secretary, Revenue Department.

He also promised that action would be initiated after obtaining clarification on the ownership of land and admissibility of compensation for the land in question.

In his report for 2002, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (Civil) unearthed another irregularity in the board. The CAG said the Mahindra Group of Companies had asked for 30 acres of land at Maddur in Mandya District for setting up a unit to manufacture tractors. However, the company did not deposit compensation money as per the guidelines. Even the board did not insist on it.

Against the requirement of 30 acres, the board, by mutual consent, acquired 78 acres and 30 guntas of land at Rs. 4.5 lakh an acre in 2001 while the prevailing rate was between Rs. 70,000 and Rs. one lakh an acre as per the details furnished by the Sub-Registrar of Maddur. However, the company did not take possession of the land. Thus, the action of the board in acquiring land without getting the compensation money deposited and acquiring land in excess resulted in wasteful expenditure of Rs. 3.54 crore.

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