Ramanagaram Deputy Commissioner M.K. Ayyappa is in the dock. The Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) has booked a case against him for failing to take action against a quarry owner, who had encroached upon land belonging to a government school in Bangalore South.
When Mr. Ayyappa was Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore (Urban) district, he and his subordinates had ignored the recommendations of the chairman of the task force for protection of government land and to initiate action against the encroachers.
After waiting for more than two years, the School Development Management Committee (SDMC) filed a complaint against Mr. Ayyappa, officials and the Tahsildar of Bangalore South for not only failing to take action, but also indirectly encouraging the quarry owner, who is also a former chairman of the village panchayat.
M. Narayana, member of the Begur Government Higher Primary School Development Management Committee, said the school was spread across seven acres and 10 guntas of land. But, since 2009, the land hads been encroached upon by the former chairman of the village panchayat, Gabriel, who owns a quarry.
He had used a portion of the land to not only construct a 30-foot road for the movement of his vehicles, but also to dump quarry material there.
When the SDMC took strong objection and filed a complaint with the jurisdictional Tahsildar, a survey report confirmed the encroachment. When the Tahsildar was approached again, the SDMC members were told to protect their own property by fencing the area and by filing a police complaint.
Disappointed by the cold response, the SDMC filed a complaint with V. Balasubramanian, chairman of the task force, for protection of government land. Mr. Balasubramanian, after verifying the records, wrote a letter to the then Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore (Urban) M.K. Ayyappa in September 2010 directing him to take legal action against the encroachers.
But, Mr. Ayyappa failed to take action, Mr. Narayana said in his complaint to the BMTF. Now the BMTF has taken up the case against Mr. Ayyappa and others.
