Dharam doles out BDA sites to VIPs

Dharam doles out BDA sites to VIPs
Deccan Herald

Chief Minister N Dharam Singh has created a record of sorts by allotting Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) sites under his discretionary quota to 340 people in just 18 months of his government assuming office, according to documents available with Deccan Herald.

Chief Minister N Dharam Singh has created a record of sorts by allotting Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) sites under his discretionary quota to 340 people in just 18 months of his government assuming office, according to documents available with Deccan Herald.

The beneficiaries include four ministers, 126 sitting legislators and 42 former legislators. Moreover, many people who already owned BDA sites in Bangalore, have again been allotted sites. Most of sites allotted are in the City’s HSR Layout.

The chief minister’s discretionary quota is for allotting sites to prominent personalities who have excelled in fine arts, literature, sports, theatre and other such public spheres and to those who have won national awards.

Party no barrier

But in the present instance, more than a 100 persons who are nowhere connected with these fields have been allotted the sites.

The allotments have been made irrespective of the allottees’ party affiliations. The 126 current and 42 former legislators, five Members of Parliament, six former MPs, four ministers and 16 former ministers who have been allotted BDA sites, hail from the Congress, BJP and Janata Dal (Secular), besides other smaller parties.

The allottees include: Ministers Alanguru Srinivas, N Cheluvarayaswami, Iqbal Ansari and B Sathnarayana.

Former ministers M Raghupathi, S Ramesh, R B Thimmapur, M M Nanaiah, B S Patil Sasnur, Rudrappa Lamani, E T Shambunath, R B Choudhary, Suma Vasanth, M S Patil, R Krishnappa, C Gurunath, N M Nabhi, R S Patil and M Shankar Nayak.

MPs Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi, D C Srikantappa, C H Vijay Shankar, P C Gaddigoudar and D V Sadananda Gowda, former MPs M Rajashekar Murthy, Kolur Basavangouda, Mulke Govindreddy, Ayanur Manjunath, H Hanumantappa and Ananthkumar Hegde .

Former Karnataka governor V S Rama Devi, Varalakshmi Gundu Rao, wife of the late former chief minister R Gundu Rao and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office- bearers P M Ashok, Vasanthi Shivanna, L Satish, B Rangaiah, C S Gangadharaiah, R Shankare Gowda and S A Jiddi.

About 122 persons not connected with politics too have been allotted sites. They include government servants, Mr Dharam Singh’s relatives, his personal assistants, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation officer Muniraju and retired official Baburao Kulkarni.

Five journalists too are also among those allotted sites. In fact, two of them have already availed sites under the discretionary quota during the previous regimes. According to the BDA rules, the chief minister should allot sites under the discretionary quota only to persons who do not have a own house or site. But the majority of the 340 beneficiaries have reportedly given false affidavits to avail the sites. Noted personalities for whom this discretionary quota has actually been provided, are few and far between in the list of beneficiaries. They include noted litterateur K S Nissar Ahmed, film producers S V Rajendrasingh Babu and Parimala, ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair and Air Marshal B K Pande.