The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the State government to submit a status report on details of government properties that have been leased out. The court said that some public properties that had been leased to private individuals and firms had neither been taken back after the expiry of the lease period nor was the lease amount increased. In his order, Justice Huluvadi G. Ramesh said that the status report should list out details of land leased out to individuals and whether leased properties were taken back after the expiry of the lease period. The court clarified that by this exercise of seeking details of leased government land, it was only complementing the work of the executive so that the rule of law prevails.
The court also directed the government to submit a more detailed report on availability of government land in the State because the report submitted by the government earlier lacked sufficient information.
Justice Ramesh asked the government to give details to the court about forest land available as per the records and the details of efforts made to protect it. The court told the government that it should ensure that there is discrimination while taking possession of encroached land.
The court appointed IAS officer V. Punnuraj, Commissioner, Survey Settlement and Land Records, as the officer to assist the court to get the details sought from the government. The court told the government to extend its support to the officer and not to disturb him from his post.
Meanwhile, the court dispensed with the services of retired IAS officer V. Balasubramanian, the Court Commissioner. The court was hearing a petition with regard to lost revenue record of a farmer.
