BS Yeddyurappa government allotted 56 sites under ‘G’ category between December 2010 and November 2011, despite the court saying it had no power to do so.
The state government blatantly violated a high court order and allotted 56 ‘G’ Category sites under BS Yeddyurappa’s government. A Right to Information (RTI) document, in DNA’s possession, shows that the state government violated a December 15, 2010 high court direction to the state government stating that it had no power or authority to allot sites under ‘G’ Category to any person. This came up in the court while hearing a case challenging the cancellation of a ‘G’ Category site involving former minister Kumar Bangarappa.
Petitioner K Raju had appealed to the high court saying he had purchased site 11A in HSR layout. However, on June 13, 2007, Kumar Bangarappa was allotted this site as an alternative to his site in Banaswadi.
Justice Abdul S Nazeer had ruled that the state government had no power or authority to allot sites under ‘G’ category to any person under the BDA Act 1976. Also, it cannot direct BDA to allot sites to any person or persons under G category as per the circular dated August 6, 1997.
The circular, passed under BDA (allotment of sites) rules 1984, was part of the revised guidelines for the allotment of stray sites by BDA. As per this circular, the state government has the right to allot 30% of sites in ‘G’ Category. The high court held that when the Act does not authorise the state government to allot stray sites, the question of vesting the right to allot 30% of the sites in ‘G’ Category with the state government by way of the circular is “totally illegal”. However, according to RTI documents, irrespective of the high court’s direction, the state government went ahead with issuing ‘G’ Category sites.
The documents reveal details of stray sites allotted under the ‘G’ Category by the state government between December 14, 2010 and November 25, 2011. Yeddyurappa was chief minister during most of this period. One former minister, four MLAs, one IAS officer, and one cine artiste are among the beneficiaries of the state government’s violation of the high court direction.
According to high court advocate AV Amarnathan, “The state government has the power to allot the ‘G’ category sites to those people who have served the society and made a mark in a particular field. However, as per the order of the high court, the sites cannot be allotted to any Tom, Dick and Harry under its discretionary quota.”K Raju filed a petition in the high court challenging that he had purchased a site 11A in the HSR layout.
On June 13 2007, Kumar Bangarappa was allotted this site as an alternate to a site given to him in Banaswadi. On the June 26, 2007, the sale deed was also granted to Bangarappa, and within three days he sold the land to one person, named Madhudondababa, for Rs85 lakh. Bangarappa had bought the site for Rs8.57 lakh. Madhudondababa, in turn, sold the land to the petitioner K Raju for Rs20 crore on December 7, 2007. Another site 12, a neighbouring site to 11A at HSR Layout (a corner site), was auctioned by BDA and was purchased by Raju again for Rs1.5 crore on May 2, 2008.
BDA then cancelled the original allotment of land to Bangarappa at the HSR Layout on the July 31, 2008, saying that the very next site 12 (which was also bought by Raju) bifurcates since it is a corner site. This was challenged by Raju in high court saying that the BDA had not issued any notice to him before cancelling the allotment of 11A site.
Justice Nazeer not only quashed the cancellation of the allotment of the land by the BDA, but also directed the commissioner for BDA to probe into the matter and take action against the erring officers.
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