The decision of a former Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district to allegedly let go of a government land worth “hundreds of crores” to a private party has come under the scanner.
The Survey, Settlement and Land Records Department (SLRD) has written to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to take action against three Revenue Department officials for “criminal breach of trust”. The department has accused former Deputy Commissioner Shankar, former Assistant Commissioner Harish Nayak, and the then tahsildar of Anekal taluk C. Mahadevaiah of causing losses to the government by declaring 19 acres and 10 guntas in Anekal taluk as private land.
The land transaction has been brought to the notice of the ACB through a letter dated September 7, by Commissioner of SLRD Munish Moudgil. Incidentally, Mr. Moudgil was transferred on Wednesday. A top official in the ACB has confirmed receipt of the letter from the SLRD. The agency will write to the State government seeking permission to conduct an inquiry against the officers named in the report under Section 17 (A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, he said.
The villagers of Bukkasagara in Jigani hobli, Anekal taluk, had filed a complaint in June 2018, alleging that the officials were trying to create documents of the government land in survey number 183 in the name of private individuals, the letter said.
The letter accuses the officials of considering 19 acres and 10 guntas in Bukkasagara village as B kharab land that is against the survey manual and a government circular dated May 16, 2018. The letter states that the then Deputy Commissioner had committed a mistake in directing that this land was private, whereas it is government land as per the original survey sketches.
Further to the order of the Deputy Commissioner, the letter states that the Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru South, and Anekal taluk tahsildar, who are Revenue officials, continued to justify the mistake and transferred the land, thus committing “dereliction of duty”.
Officer denies
Refuting any wrongdoing, Mr. Shankar said that the order was based on a report filed by the Joint Director Land Records (Central), and that it was done as per the law. “Based on the State government orders and circular, the matter had been remanded back to JDLR. His report was based on a spot inspection and the report had said that the land was A kharab. The letter is far from the truth.”
He also said that while the order was passed in 2017, the SLRD letter cites a May 2018 order to show that it was violated. “Circulars are prospective. The order cannot be considered as violation of the circular,” he said. Mr. Shankar also said that the appellate authority for the orders passed by quasi judicial authorities (DC is quasi judicial authority) is the High Court.
