Justice Padmaraj to probe land scams in Karnataka

Former high court judge B Padmaraj will head a commission of enquiry to investigate all the denotification scams in the state as well as irregularities in allocation of sites through the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and other civic bodies since 1995. The commission has been asked to submit its report within one year.

The state government announced the appointment of justice Padmaraj to conduct the probe in accordance with the decision taken at a recent cabinet meeting.

The terms of reference include probing the illegalities in allotment of ‘G’ category  sites by BDA, illegalities in denotification of land notified by BDA, allotment of land by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) and denotification of lands notified by KIADB and other local bodies.

The commission has been asked to fix responsibility for illegalities and suggest remedial measures.

The notification of the probe issued on Monday said the probe would cover irregularities since January 1, 1995.