FIR against BDA official who pulled `100-crore land scam

Bengaluru: An FIR has been registered by the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) on Saturday, against Nagaraj, a BDA official and staff, responsible for causing a loss of Rs 100 crore to the BDA by selling the land acquired by the authority.

In 1986, BDA, which had acquired 4 acres and 13 guntas in Survey No. 73 of Banasawadi village of KR Puram Hobli, Bengaluru East Taluk, from one Eranna for the construction of NGEF Layout. The BDA had deposited the compensation money for the land-owner in the civil court.

However, Nagaraj had secured GPA from Eranna and converted the land into house plots and sold them. In the meantime, the BDA had taken back the plots from the owners who approached the court, seeking justice, The High Court, which heard these petitions, directed that a decision be taken as per the rules of the BDA.

Meanwhile, Nagaraj pulled another fraud and got plot owners transfer the ownership right to him and applied to the BDA seeking allotment of alternative sites. The BDA authority discussed the matter twice in a meeting, rejected his request saying that they could not provide an alternative site as per the rules.

Curiously, the BDA in 2012, decided to allot sites to Nagraj in various survey numbers of Arkavati Layout as compensation for the 4 acres and 13 guntas land though he acquired it through fraudulent means from the authority itself. Nagaraj requested the authorities to give him land elsewhere on the pretext that some of the allotted land was not suitable for construction as it fell in buffer zone.

The BDA officials accepted Nagraj's request and, this time, allotted him land in various prime locations, including Thanisandra in 2014.

Realising the extent of the scam, BDA President SR Vishwanath ordered DSP Ravikumar of the BDA task force to look into the entire land allotment file and conduct a proper investigation. Ravikumar and Inspector Srinivas who probed the matter, reported to the commissioner and the BDA Chairman that there was a huge amount of illegality in this case.

A complaint was lodged by the inspector on the instructions of BDA Chairman Vishwanath and Commissioner Rajesh Gowda.

About Rs 100 crore loss has been caused to the authority by this land allotment. He had complained to the BMTF to investigate and take action against Nagaraj and the BDA officers and staff responsible for this. Based on this complaint, BMTF inspector has registered an FIR and started an investigation.

The government has empowered the chairman and commissioner of the authority to investigate and take action on such illegal cases of the BDA. In this background, henceforth such cases will be detected and the culprits will be punished, said S R Vishwanath, BDA Chairman.