Politicians' kin corner BDA sites

Politicians' kin corner BDA sites
Vijay Times

Allotment of sites by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) under the ‘G’ category is getting weirder by the day. BDA rules say stray sites can be allotted under G category to “persons in public life as may be directed by the government”.

But documents procured by VViij jaay y TTiimme es susing the Right to Information Act show that the definition of ‘persons in public life’ has been expanded to include children of persons in public life. In some cases, members of a single family have managed to get more than one site allotted.

Former Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, former Minister M Mallikarjuna Kharge, Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj, former Speaker M V Venkatappa, IPS officer D V Guruprasad and IAS officer Brahma Dutt head the list of G category beneficiaries.

The issue has already kicked up a row, and the Lok Ayukta has called for at least 12 files pertaining to allotments made during Dharam Singh’s tenure. Many of the recent beneficiaries under this category are children of politicians and bureaucrats.

When VVT Tsought details of people who have been allotted G category sites, the identity of allottees was found to be concealed. In some cases, the names of the spouse was given in place of the father’s name. Most allottees were either children of politicians or bureaucrats.

BDA Commissioner M K Shankaralinge Gowda admitted that the father’s name had not been entered in some cases. “They (the applicants) might have deliberately hidden their father’s identity to prove they are independent. In such cases, we have to follow the government orders and allot sites,’’ he said.

When his attention was drawn to some of the allotments, where BDA had not bothered to furnish even the identity of the beneficiaries, Gowda said that he had directed the officials not to hide anything pertaining to allotments. “If there are any specific cases, just give the names and I will get you the information,’’ he added.