The farmland donated by renowned Kannada writer late Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar to a government higher primary school at Gorur, his native place, has been allegedly encroached upon, forcing the school authorities to fight for recovering it.
Ramaswamy Iyengar had donated four acres and 38 guntas of his land located at Devihalli, near Gorur, to the Government Higher Primary School with the objective of supporting the institution, financially, in 1958. The earnings from the field could be utilised for the school’s improvement. The land was donated and registered in the name of the then Mysore Government. For decades, many people, through an agreement with the school, cultivated the land and gave the revenue generated there, either in the form of produce or cash, to the school.
‘More than a decade’
“For more than a decade, the farmer who is in possession of the land has not paid anything to the school. Instead, he is claiming ownership of the land,” said Javaraiah, headmaster of the school. Even the latest RTC obtained on January 7 this year states that the land in survey number 35 of Devihalli is in the government’s name. The record clearly states that it was donated by Ramaswamy Iyengar.
The farmer has gone to the court, claiming ownership. “We are approaching the Revenue Department to reclaim the land. We have submitted the documents available in the school,” said Mr. Javaraiah.