Bengaluru, Dec 17 (NationPress) A formal complaint has been filed with the Karnataka Lokayukta on Tuesday seeking an investigation into an alleged scheme to seize government land in Bengaluru by a Congress politician and officials from the Revenue Department.

The complaint was submitted by senior BJP leader and President of the Anti-Corruption Forum, N.R. Ramesh.

The submission was made to the Lokayukta ADGP and also shared with the Minister for Revenue, Krishna Byre Gowda.

Ramesh alleged, “Politically powerful individuals and officials from the Revenue Department have conspired to illegally acquire government property valued at over Rs 1,600 crore.”

He also claimed to have provided 204 pages of supporting documentation with the complaint.

According to Ramesh, “In Kengeri Village, located in Kengeri Hobli, Bengaluru South Taluk, Survey No. 69 encompasses a total of 183 acres of government land. Out of this, 37.20 acres were allocated by the government in 1973 to 25 landless Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) individuals, with each receiving 1.20 acres. Many of the original allottees have since deceased. This prime land, situated next to BGS Hospital on the Uttarahalli-Kengeri Road, has fallen victim to a scheme involving various political and financial figures. With the aid of corrupt officials from the Revenue Department, they forged documents and, in a gross violation of the law, managed to seize the land illegally.”

The current market valuation for the 37.20 acres (or 16,33,500 sq. ft.) of Survey No. 69 is projected to surpass Rs 1,600 crore, with a base market rate of Rs 10,000 per sq. ft., according to Ramesh.

“Nonetheless, politically influential figures led by K.N. Surendra, in collusion with corrupt officials, devised a strategy to unlawfully obtain this valuable land. K.N. Surendra, who heads KNS Residency, a land development company situated on Vijayanagar Service Road, orchestrated the scheme with the support of notable politicians, including H.C. Balakrishna, a Congress MLA from Magadi,” Ramesh asserted.

He further accused, “This land, categorized as ‘government rocky land,’ is prohibited from being sold to private entities. In spite of this, officials such as the Bangalore South Taluk Tahsildars, Dinesh and Ram Lakshman, along with Special Tahsildar Gururaj, collaborated in the scam by creating counterfeit documents and processing requests within 15 days — a stark contrast to the usual delays that the public experiences.”

A complaint has been filed with the Lokayukta under the BNS 2023 for corruption, forgery, conspiracy, fraud, and misuse of power.

Ramesh has also called for this matter to be subjected to a high-level judicial or CID investigation.

“In conclusion, immediate measures are requested to safeguard the land, including the installation of security fencing, to ensure that not a single inch of this government property is lost to land grabbers,” he urged.