The Lokayukta Special Court has ordered an investigation into the complaint against Health and Family Welfare Minister Aravind Limbavali and Agriculture Department Principal Secretary Bharat Lal Meena for allegedly showing official favours to real estate firms by permitting violation of the Revised Master Plan (RMP) to facilitate illegal constructions.
The complaint alleged that Mr. Limbavali and Mr. Meena, as BBMP Commissioner and later as BDA Commissioner, had shown undue favours to DLF. The BBMP reportedly ordered widening of a road only to facilitate the increase in floor area ratio of the DLF project.
DLF, represented by K.P. Singh and T.C. Goyal, BBMP administrator K.M. Shivakumar, and Executive Engineer Lakshmeesh have been named as accused in the complaint.
Illegal widening
The complainants are N. Nagaraju and four others, who own land in Begur village. They said contrary to the RMP of the 18-metre road, Mr. Limbavali, Mr. Meena and other BBMP officials had it widened to 24 m only to benefit DLF and Suadela Constructions Pvt. Ltd.
According to the complaint, the BBMP had issued a notice when DLF started construction of illegal floors. It approached the then Higher Education Minister Limbavali. Though it was unconnected to his Ministry, he, on October 2009 wrote to Executive Engineer Lakshmeesh through the BBMP Commissioner to widen the road to 24 m saying the people of Begur wanted it. The DLF also wrote a letter to the BBMP quoting Mr. Limbavali’s letter.
Floor ratio increased
However, the RMP allows for road widening only up to 18 m. The complaint alleged that the BDA, in anticipation of the road being widened, accorded sanction for the construction and neither DLF nor Suadela are the owners of the land in question. The BBMP had put out an ad about the illegalities in DLF project in May 2009 before the Minister’s intervention. Consequently, the floor ratio of DLF and Saudela was illegally increased, the complainants alleged.
Lokayukta Special Court Judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao directed the Lokayukta DySP to investigate the case under section 156 (3) and submit a report by December 15.
