The controversy surrounding a proposed residential complex next to Sankey Tank took a new twist on Friday with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promising to examine the issue and protect the land.
Mr. Siddaramaiah assured agitating members in the Assembly that the government would take all necessary steps to protect 7.2 acres of government and forest land abutting the Sankey Tank catchment area.
Responding to Malleswaram MLA Ashwathanarayan, who raised the issue during the debate on the Governor’s address, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the government would take a decision after consulting senior revenue and forest officials.
Intervening in the discussion, Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar alleged that the land had changed hands over the years because of the involvement of bureaucrats with vested interests and urged the Chief Minister to call for records immediately to recover it.
Underlining the seriousness of the issue, Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa directed Mr. Siddaramaiah to convene a meeting of senior officials and take steps to recover the government land within the next three days.
Residents of Malleswaram have held protests opposing construction of the apartment complex next to the water body. Freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy and others have urged the government to conduct a survey of the land as, besides being ecologically important, the tank is a historical monument.
Land was given to
ITI in 1930
The 6.1-acre land in question was sold by the erstwhile Mysore State to Indian Testing Laboratory in 1931, according to Malleswaram MLA Ashwathanarayan. Later, the land was transferred to Mysore Industrial and Testing Laboratory (MITL), a subsidiary of Indian Detonators.
It was given to MITL to set up a factory for producing affordable medicine.
The companies never established the industry, as promised to the government, Mr. Ashwathanarayan said. Notably, 1.1 acres of forest land was added to the existing 6.1 acres for developing the residential project.
