Much water has flown in river Hemavathi since a dam was built at Gorur near Hassan in 1979. Now, the grant of alternative land for farmers who lost their land for the project, has turned into a scam involving more than 10,000 acres. The value of land granted violating the rules would run into several hundred crores of rupees.
A police investigation into grant of land between January 1, 2015, and November 30, 2018, has unearthed over 2,500 cases of fictitious records. Considering that each beneficiary is entitled to four acres, the total quantum of land would be more than 10,000 acres.
The Special Land Acquisition Officers allegedly did not follow rules and guidelines while granting land. As many as 226 people were granted land in possession of the Forest Department, even without assessing the value of trees grown there. However, the government is yet to act on the report of an investigation.
Alternative land
It was way back in the 1970s that land required for the Hemavati River Project (HRP) was acquired. The land losers got certificates with respect to the extent of land they lost. Each certificate could fetch four acres of alternative land.
However, the process of granting alternative land dragged on for decades. The Karnataka government had earmarked government land in Sakleshpur for HRP land losers.
“Many people got land sanctioned twice. A large number of people, who got land sanctioned, were not genuine land losers. They created false records with the help of officials,” said a police officer who investigated the case.
Many beneficiaries were those who had encroached on government land in Sakleshpur taluk. The modus operandi was simple. They applied for a grant through someone who had a certificate. They would ensure that the land they had encroached on was granted to the applicant and then purchase the same from the beneficiary.
“All this involved huge money. The encroachers legalised their act with the help of officials,” said the police officer.
Recently, police arrested a person, who ran a photocopying shop at Sakleshpur, on the charge of cheating a person after assuring him grant of land. During the course of the inquiry, police took a Revenue Department official into custody.
Signatures forged
The scam began to unravel in 2019, forcing Deputy Commissioner R. Girish to appoint a committee under the chairmanship of H.L. Nagaraj, then Assistant Commissioner of Hassan sub-division, to conduct a probe. He found many irregularities in the grant of land. Some documents carried forged signatures of senior officials. Later, the administration filed FIRs with the police. The police conducted an investigation into the grant of land handled during the tenure of Special Land Acquisition Officers E.Vijaya, Ravichandra Naik, B.A. Jagadish and Capt Srinivasa Gowda.
Police have submitted an interim report to the Deputy Commissioner. The district administration has served notices to 2,370 people, including the beneficiaries. Only a few have responded to the notices. The Deputy Commissioner will have to take the final call after hearing all the respondents.
Revenue Minister R. Ashok, during a visit to Hassan in July, said that the government would take stern action against all the people involved in illegal acts. K. Gopalaiah, who is the minister in charge of Hassan, has reiterated the same.
When journalists asked about the inaction of the part of the government even after an inquiry revealed irregularities, Mr. Gopalaiah said the Secretary of Revenue Department was verifying the issue, and suitable action would be taken against all those involved.
