The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday ordered issue of notices to the State on a PIL petition that the authorities have not acted against construction of a medical college and hospital building being put up “illegally” by Home Minister G. Parameshwer’s elder brother in the ecologically sensitive catchment area of Tippagondanahalli Reservoir.
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B.V. Nagarathna passed the order on the petition filed by N. Rajanna, an RTI activist from Nelamangala.
It has been alleged in the petition that the building is being constructed by G. Shivaprasad without obtaining the plan from the planning authority, without getting the land converted for commercial use, without obtaining the change of land-use, and without securing consent from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
The petitioner claimed that the construction of the building for the medical college is in clear violation of November 18, 2003 notification that bars all activities, other than agriculture, in the TGR catchment area, while classifying the area into several eco-sensitive zones.
