Suspension of guilty Water Resources, BDA officials and lawyers
Govt to lose 5 lakh crore if lapses not fixed
Bengaluru, Nov 22: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today said that an SIT would be formed to investigate irregularities in land acquisition for Bengaluru Development and Irrigation departments and added that officials and lawyers involved would be suspended.
“We are forming an SIT to investigate irregularities in land acquisition for Irrigation and Bengaluru Development departments. The guilty officials will be suspended,” the DCM said after holding a meeting at Vidhana Soudha to review land acquisition cases pending in various courts.
“We discussed the court cases pertaining to land acquisition for Irrigation department and BDA. We reviewed number of cases pending and reasons for their pendency. These cases will cost the government quite a bit of money,” he explained.
61,843 cases pending in Irrigation dept.
“There are about 61,843 cases related to various Irrigation departments pending in various courts. KNNL has 25,356 cases, VJNL 2,856 cases, CNNL 4,455 cases, UKP, R&R and KBJNL cumulatively have 29,176 cases pending,” he added.
“Revenue department has ordered an investigation in Bengaluru city jurisdiction and it is found that officials and legal team have wasted away time by not filing applications at the right time. We have asked for a report regarding this. The SIT will investigate irregularities pertaining to this and initiate action against officials and lawyers concerned,” he added.
“There are 219 lawyers in Irrigation department to handle cases concerned. We will remove all those lawyers who are not responsible and appoint new ones. This is a historic decision to save the face of the department,” he added.
Authority to resolve disputes outside the courts
“Under the new regulations, there is a provision form an authority under a retired judge. This Authority can resolve cases pertaining to land acquisition outside of the judicial system. We will take decision on the formation of the Authority at the government level,” he noted.
*Rs 9 crore compensation instead of Rs 9 lakh *
“In many cases, Irrigation department agencies or corporations are required to pay the compensation though Revenue department handles land acquisition process. But these disputes are being handled without making these corporations a party in it. There are instances where the Irrigation department has fixed a compensation of Rs 9 lakh while they have managed a compensation of Rs 9 crore through Court orders,” he explained.
A separate unit to record arguments of government lawyers
“We have decided to form a separate unit to review the court cases and also to record arguments of government lawyers. This will fix accountability to the lawyers arguing the case. We will do similar things in BDA, GBA jurisdictions as well,” he explained.
Q&A
Asked about the loss to the government due to the delay in handling these cases, he said, “It is difficult to put a number as there are individual cases also. Many farmers are not aware of the details. But there is a possibility of it costing the government about Rs 5 lakh crores if not handled properly.”
Asked if a timeline has been fixed for the investigation of these lapses, he said, “A special team has been put in place and a report will be submitted within the next 10-15 days. If there is a need, an SIT will be formed after that for a comprehensive investigation.”
Mekedatu
Asked about Mekedatu project, he said, “We received the judgment copy today. We will implement the project in the days to come. We need to call an all party meet and take a delegation to Delhi. All issues need to be sorted out before the CWMA and CWC and there is no question of going back to the court.”
Kumaraswamy is daydreaming
Asked about Kumaraswamy’s statement that there will a mega political development in the state, he said, “He is day dreaming.”
