Complaint Against Sam Pitroda Filed with K’taka Lokayukta & ED Over Land Scam
Click to start listening
Synopsis
A complaint has been filed against Congress leader Sam Pitroda with Karnataka Lokayukta and ED concerning a land scam involving Rs 150 crore. Allegations include fraud and abuse of power linked to a lease of forest land.
Key Takeaways
- Complaint lodged against Sam Pitroda.
- Involves Rs 150 crore land scam.
- Accusations of fraud and corruption.
- Former officials also implicated.
- Alleged misuse of forest land for medicinal plants.
Bengaluru, Feb 24 (NationPress) A formal complaint has been submitted against Congress leader Sam Pitroda, recognized as a close ally of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, to the Karnataka Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Bengaluru concerning a land scam valued at Rs 150 crore.
The complaint was filed by prominent BJP leader and activist N.R. Ramesh on Monday, accompanied by corroborating documents. Ramesh accused, “Sam Pitroda, who is closely linked with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, is involved in a significant illegal land scam concerning Karnataka’s Forest Department property worth over Rs 150 crore.”
The complaint also implicates former Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka’s Forest and Environment Department, Javed Akhtar (IAS Retd.), who presently serves as the Chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), in addition to Principal Chief Conservators of Forests R.K. Singh and Sanjay Mohan, along with Deputy Conservators of Forests of Bengaluru Urban Division, N. Ravindra Kumar and S. S. Ravishankar.
The allegations encompass fraud, corruption, illegal acquisition of government land, and abuse of power.
The complaint specifies: “On October 23, 1991, Sam Pitroda established an organization named ‘Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions’ (FRLHT) with the Mumbai Registrar of Co-Operative Societies. Subsequently, in 2010, the registration of FRLHT was annulled at Sam Pitroda’s request.
However, in 2008, another trust deed under the same title, ‘Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions’ (FRLHT), was registered at the Bangalore Sub-Registrar’s office in Byatarayanapura.”
Ramesh claimed that in 1996, Sam Pitroda sought the Karnataka Forest Department to lease a reserved forest area to FRLHT for “medicinal plant conservation and research.”
As a result of this request, the Karnataka Forest Department leased 5 hectares (12.35 acres) of reserved forest land in ‘B’ Block of Jarakabande Kavalu near Yelahanka, Bengaluru, to FRLHT, Mumbai for a duration of five years.
This lease was also sanctioned by the Ministry of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Government of India. After the initial five-year lease ended, the Karnataka Forest Department renewed the lease for an additional ten years in 2001, which concluded on December 2, 2011, as stated in the complaint.
“Since then, the Forest Department has not renewed the lease. However, instead of reclaiming the 12.35-acre government land valued at over Rs 150 crore, the Karnataka Forest Department has taken no action for the past 14 years due to alleged bribery from Sam Pitroda,” Ramesh asserted.
High-ranking officials within the Karnataka Forest Department, under Sam Pitroda’s political and financial sway, have failed to notify the central Ministry of Forest, Ecology and Environment that FRLHT’s lease lapsed on December 2, 2011, he alleged.
Sam Pitroda’s FRLHT organization has persistently utilized the reserved forest land near Yelahanka, Bengaluru, for cultivating rare medicinal plants under the guise of research and conservation, Ramesh claimed.
“Over the past 29 years, Sam Pitroda has reportedly generated crores of rupees annually from the sale of medicinal plant products cultivated on this government land,” he stated.
Sam Pitroda, originally from Odisha, served as an advisor to India’s telecom department under former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.
