Kharge family has done injustice to Dalits: K’taka BJP on KIADB land scam

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP has launched a fresh attack on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and his son, state Minister Priyank Kharge, over the alleged illegal allotment of five acres of land by the Siddaramaiah government at the Aerospace Park in Bengaluru saying that it was an injustice to Dalits by the Kharge family.

Speaking to media at the BJP state office here on Wednesday, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said, “Kharge family is playing politics over the land which is meant for Dalits and depriving deserving Dalits of their rightful share.” He also released fresh documents in this regard.

"The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) collected lakhs of rupees from 72 Dalit organisations but only allocated land to the Kharge family, disregarding other families," he slammed. He also criticised the government for hastily approving land for the Kharge family within just 20 days, flouting all rules.

"This is one of the biggest blunders in KIADB's history," he emphasised.

"This is another scam, akin to the loot in the MUDA scam by the Congress government. All of this happened within a month, just before the parliamentary elections. He questioned the purpose behind such hasty allocations. He asked why it takes 2-3 years to allocate sites to other applicants when this was done within a month," he questioned.

“The land allocated in Kalaburagi has not been utilized for skill development by anyone from the Kharge family. However, they have successfully secured land in Bengaluru,” he noted.

He challenged Priyank Kharge to disclose how many youths have been trained at the training centre opened by their trust on 19 acres of land in Kalaburagi city. He said that while a building has been constructed, not a single youth has been admitted.

"The five acres of land were hastily allocated to the trust of Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyank Kharge, violating the rules. What is the purpose behind the hasty allocation of land? The land was approved in just one day, and the approval letter was issued the very next day," Narayanaswamy alleged.

"The CA plots would be allotted for a Research and Development (R&D) Center, Innovation, Excellence Technical Institute, Educational Institute, and Bank facilities. The KIADB issued an official memorandum on February 14, 2023, based on a decision made in the meeting on January 12. It was decided to allocate the commercial plots available in the industrial area through a 10-year lease-sale deed at twice the fixed rate. However, the land was given at the CA (Civic Amenity) rate instead of the commercial rate," the BJP leader said.

Narayanaswamy further alleged that rules were changed, and commercial plots were hastily allocated without a public auction, less than a year after the original decision. "If it was for commercial purposes, the base price should have been Rs 2.5 crore per acre, and at double the rate, it should have been auctioned from the base rate of Rs 5 crore. It could have fetched Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore in an auction. However, the land was given at the CA rate, considering it as a civic amenity site," he said.

The LoP pointed out that no trust should have influence or government officials in their management, yet Priyank Kharge, a cabinet minister, has benefited from this government favour, he accused.

Narayanaswamy maintained that several irregularities have occurred. "KIADB has a long-standing practice of allocating CA sites through auctions. However, in this case, there were no provisions made for parks, educational institutions, petrol bunks, etc. This is the first mistake. The letterhead was accepted, and the land was allotted accordingly to the Kharge family."

"A decision was taken on February 5, 2024, to make applications available on the website from February 8. Applicants were given until February 23 to submit their applications, but instead of a month, only 14 days were provided. The short window was deliberately intended to keep the process under wraps...On March 4, a single-window agency conducted the verification. All applications were reviewed in one day, and the decision was made at 5 p.m. the next day in the presence of the Minister of Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil. The approval letter was issued on the 6th," he stated.

"There are 193 CA sites in 12 districts, totaling 377.69 acres, with 283 applications. If 30 days had been provided, more applications would have come in. However, the notification was not widely known. The applications were received in 14 days, reviewed on the 15th day, and approved on the 16th day," said Narayanaswamy while saying that this was a major mistake in KIADB's history.

He gave an example of a 3-star hotel owned by Ishwar Sangappa Badri in Halagani, Vijayapura, allocated a CA site. "This was for commercial purposes, and it should have been auctioned. Even at a lower rate, 2.5 acres should have fetched Rs 12.5 crore," he argued.

The BJP leader questioned "whether the land given to one Sunita Rajasekhar in Bidadi for the construction of apartments was for commercial purposes or under civic amenities". In Harohalli, 2.5 acres were given to a skill development institute. "The SCs were given only half an acre, while others were allotted 5 or 6 acres," he alleged.

“In 12 districts, 193 CA plots are available in the state, with a total of 377.69 acres of land. Number of applications received was 283. If the time was given for 30 days, KIADB would have got more applications. People did not know at all. This was done to benefit the Kharge family. It is the biggest blunder in the history of the KIADB,” he reiterated.

The CA plots have been allotted to a three-star hotel. It should have been a commercial site and auctioned. CA land of five acres is also given for the construction of an apartment. Can an apartment come in the category of amenities? Is it a business or an amenity? Narayanaswamy questioned.

Narayanswamy met the Governor on Tuesday and submitted a letter for a thorough inquiry into the allotments of lands by the KIADB.

BJP MLC N. Ravikumar and OBC Morcha State President Raghu Kautilya were present at the media briefing.