U G Barad: Marshall Mendonza tried to clear the cloud gathered after reading Gabe Menezes's posting titled as in the subject line. (Marshall's posting reference: Goanet Digest, Vol 5, Issue 1181, Message 3, dated: Saturday, October 30, 2010 6:04 AM)
After reading complete article (responses Para wise) forwarded by Marshall, few questions pops up, they are: 1) In the first place, how did the church have the possession of the said property in question? 2) Was it gifted / donated for any specific purpose! 3) If it is gifted / donated, what do the deed papers say? In absence of above clarifications, the clouds will continue to gather suspecting vested interests like another Adarsh Housing scam! In this case too, till date, and till this time, the concerned authorities are bent on saying that there is no scam - Hope Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan has not vacate his chair for scam!! Response: 1. In the first place I have not tried to 'clear any clouds'.( I did not see any clouds anyway) I have merely posted the riposte to the article posted by Gabe which I came across in The Examiner magazine so that the other point of view is also available. 2. Talking about property / land scams, here is one which should keep your mind engaged as you seem very keen on property issues. Kindly revert to us with your research, findings and explanations whenever time permits. Muck.Gov.Ka <http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267506> Corruption rules his government more than Yediyurappa his state Sugata Srinivasaraju<http://www.outlookindia.com/peoplefnl.aspx?pid=3883&author=Sugata+Srinivasaraju> Forget the head count in the Karnataka assembly for a moment. Perhaps it is more pertinent to ask if the B.S. Yediyurappa government has violated the trust of the people. Has the first BJP government in the south, which has been in power for less than 30 months, shot itself in the foot? Have the many scams it’s embroiled in eroded its credibility? Has it become indifferent to corruption and governance? Is it fair to ask if it’s the worst administration Karnataka’s ever seen? If one goes by the statements of Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde, who has thoroughly exposed the government on issues pertaining to illegal mining and most recently on land acquisition, then this is clearly the absolute nadir (see interview). In Karnataka, corruption starts right at the top. Here are some of the scams that made news: *The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Scam:* This involves the chief minister. He is accused of denotifying government land to favour his sons and son-in-law. The final notification for the land acquired by the BDA in Rachenahalli village of Krishnarajapuram to form Arkavathy Layout was issued in 2004. But the CM’s family is alleged to have purchased land already in BDA’s possession and got it denotified in clear violation of all rules. Once the land is purchased, it can be sold back to the BDA. After this case came to light, more papers relating to the irregular denotification surfaced this month. In yet another case, Yediyurappa was accused of denotifying BDA land in Nagarbhavi, Bangalore, ignoring both high court and Supreme Court rulings which said no to such denotification. Topping this all, however, was the CM allotting a discretionary quota BDA site to his MP-son, B.Y. Raghavendra, in 2009. Contrary to reality, Raghavendra had submitted an affidavit stating he didn’t own any property in Bangalore to get land in the city’s upmarket rmv 2nd stage locality. Other than his son, Yediyurappa had allotted these ‘G category’ sites to some of his friends and relatives. Confronted by all the charges flying around, the CM’s only reaction was that he hasn’t done anything his predecessors haven’t done already. Though no figure’s been attached to the scam, it’ll easily run into hundreds of crores. *The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) Land Swindle:* The Lokayukta’s exposure of the massive scam in the land acquisition process of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board in October was easily the tipping point for this government. In this case, the powerful IT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu and his entire family came under the scanner while his son Katta Jagadish, a BJP corporator, was also arrested when he tried to bribe a complainant. Confronted by the various charges, the CM’s response: he hasn’t done anything his predecessors haven’t. The scam dates to the time when Katta Naidu was the industries minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition government. Land was acquired for an SEZ floated by Itasca Software and another US-based company near Bangalore’s new international airport. Of the 300 acres acquired, nearly 13 acres were alleged to have have been bought cheap by Katta Naidu’s family earlier with the prior knowledge of the coming acquisition. A compensation of Rs 41 lakh per acre was given for land close to the main road, while Rs 31 lakh per acre was paid for land a little away. Later, a farmer petitioned the KIADB stating that part of the land actually belonged to him. When the KIADB found his claim to be true, they gave him compensation too. The Lokayukta is now probing if Katta’s family has links with Itasca Software. However, Katta Naidu has maintained he has done no wrong and won’t resign. Meanwhile, after the scam broke, many such dubious KIADB land acquisition cases have started coming to light from different parts of the state. As a senior police officer investigating the KIADB scam put it, there are four aspects to it: “prior knowledge” of acquisition and hence cornering as much land as possible in the area; “misleading farmers” to part with their land for small change, in anticipation of a big bounty later; “creating false documents” to show ownership of land you never possessed; and “creating a formal syndicate” that both corners a significant portion of land and also determines its acquisition and how it’ll be compensated. “Here you’re both beneficiary and dispenser of benefits.” *The Land Bank Controversy:* Land has been the Achilles heel of the BJP government. As a build-up to the Global Investors Meet in June 2010, the government decided to build a ‘land bank’ of one lakh acres. By the time the meet was held, a primary or final notification had been issued for nearly 49,136 acres. In districts like Ramanagaram, just outside Bangalore, nearly 12,205 acres had been identified, 10,842 acres had been identified in Belgaum, at the northern end of the state, while another 9,347 acres was identified in Dharwad. Earlier, KIADB acquired land only on request, and after the government signed on a project. At best, it would have a couple of thousand acres in different parts of the state. But everything was reversed. Even before a single paisa of industrial projects came in, thousands of acres were acquired to be developed. As a top bureaucrat says, instead of being a facilitating agency, the government began functioning as a “real estate developer”. Of course, large-scale land purchases done with “insider knowledge” allegedly preceded this. * Earlier, KIADB acquired land only on request. Now, land is acquired before money comes in for the project. The Illegal Mining Scam:* The presence of the Reddy brothers of Bellary in the government has ensured continued focus on the subject of illegal mining. In fact, money from illegal mining is alleged to have contributed hugely to the electoral success of the BJP. The Yediyurappa government, for the most part, turned a blind eye to the scourge which runs into thousands of crores every year. It was forced to take note only after the Lokayukta resigned following the mysterious disappearance of iron ore from the Belekere port in Karwar and later, when the Congress led a padayatra to Bellary in July-August 2010 to highlight the brazen attitude of the Reddy brothers. Finally on July 26, the government banned the export of iron ore from the 10 ports of the state. It also stopped issuing transport permits for ore exports. But very little changed on the ground really. “Yediyurappa has had an on-off relationship with the Reddys. We only know that they tormented him, but we don’t speak about how much he benefited from them,” a mining rival of the Reddys says. “Finally, Yediyurappa has to be held responsible for illegal mining because he has held the mining portfolio all along.” Recently, Yediyurappa naively admitted in the assembly that 34 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore had been illegally exported from the state in just five months of his tenure. *Rehabilitation of Flood Victims:* Yediyurappa did a roadshow in October 2009 to collect crores to rehabilitate flood victims in north Karnataka. The money poured in, but nothing moved on the ground, and the funds remained unaccounted for. The ambitious move of the government to relocate 220 villages in low-lying areas to elevated terrain also fell flat. It had initiated a ‘unique public-private partnership model’ wherein the government would transfer land to corporate partners and they in turn would build houses at a cost of Rs 1 lakh each. But by the time the 2010 monsoon arrived, not a single house was ready. Here again, there are allegations of corruption in contracts and tenders. “We know the Reddys tormented him,” says their rival, “but we don’t speak of how much he benefited.” Besides land and mining, the Yediyurappa government has been caught on the wrong foot on other issues too. Medical education minister Ramachandra Gowda had to quit recently after irregularities were exposed—with the HC making tough observations on it—in the recruitment of support staff for two state-run medical colleges. Earlier, housing minister S.N. Krishnaiah Shetty was forced to exit the cabinet after a land scam was exposed. While most people avoided coming on record on the BJP’s near-degenerate performance, entrepreneur R.K. Misra, who founded the ‘Friends of the BJP’ forum, was candid: “Across India, we expect BJP-run governments to set benchmarks of development and good governance. The Karnataka BJP government needs to rate its performance against other BJP-run states like Gujarat, MP, Chhattisgarh or Bihar. If the state leadership is honest and focused on good governance, rebels will have no public support. No wonder there’s no rebellion against Modi or Raman Singh.” He also says he’s disappointed after he joined the BJP with such high expectations in 2008. The disillusionment indeed runs deep. http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?267506 3. Here is another one, though a bit dated but still very relevant, to provide you some food for thought. Excerpts: "EVEN before the Bharatiya Janata Party could deal effectively with the petrol pump allotment scandal, it was facing the music with regard to the allotment of certain plots of land in the national capital. To its discomfiture, the land records available with the Urban Development Ministry proved that in the last two years, Sangh Parivar affiliates were provided prime real estate at throwaway prices in central locations. Except to allege that other parties while in power had done much the same thing, the party failed to provide a credible reply to the media expose on the matter. According to details available so far, the highest number of allotments made by the Urban Development Ministry in the last two years have gone to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the heart of New Delhi at one-tenth the going market rate. Records of the Land and Development Office (LDO) under the Ministry for the years 1996-2002 show that of the 209 allotments, 115 have gone to government departments. Of the 94 remaining ones, a huge chunk has gone to Sangh Parivar affiliates, most of the allotments being made after 1999. A look at the list of allottees and their affiliations provides ample evidence of the Sangh Parivar's advantage in the matter of allotments. Some of the BJP-RSS affiliates allotted land at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg include the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of BJP; the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the BJP's labour wing; Sanskriti Bharati, the cultural wing of the RSS; the Samarth Shiksha Samiti and the Vidya Bharati, RSS organisations that are active in the educational sector; and the Vaish Agrawal Education Society, headed by Vijay Goel, a Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). All these allotments were made for the stated objective of running educational/cultural organisations. For example, Sanskriti Bharati, which is headed by RSS worker K. Suryanarayana and claims to be working for the promotion of Sanskrit, was allotted 1,713.6 square yards on Rouse Avenue in November 2001 at the rate of Rs.1,818 a square yard as against the going rate of Rs.96,000 a square yard. The BMS was allotted 856.8 square yards on Rouse Avenue in June, 2001 at Rs.1,818 a square yard. Similarly, the Samarth Shiksha Samiti was allotted 5,290.1 square yards in Shivalik Colony in January 2002 at Rs.1,818 a square yard against the market rate of Rs.80,000 a square yard. This organisation has RSS member Jai Prakash Gupta as its patron. Ashok Pal is the president and K.C. Bathla the general secretary. It also managed to procure 1.554 acres (0.63 hectares) in Aram Bagh near Jhandewalan, apparently to run a school, at Rs.1,818 a square yard against the market rate of Rs.55,000 a square yard. (In order to accommodate the Samiti, a slum colony in this area is to be demolished.) This organisation also got allotments in Nehru Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road and Vasant Vihar, all for educational purposes. Sewa Bharati, an RSS affiliate working in slum areas, was allotted 399 square metres at Bhai Veer Singh Marg in April 2001 at Rs.1,818 a square yard. Similarly, the Delhi Bharat Vikas Foundation, headed by BJP MP L.M. Singhvi and which has Culture and Tourism Minister Jagmohan as its patron, was allotted 1,258 square yards of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land in Yojna Vihar in 2001 at Rs.682.03 per square yard against the market rate of Rs.30,000 a square yard, apparently to open a hospital for disabled people. Another RSS affiliate, Vishwa Jagriti Mission, was allotted 672 square yards of DDA land in Rohini in 2000-01 at Rs.3,482 a square yard against the market rate of Rs.24,000 a square yard. The BJP secured a plot of 0.233 acre on Rouse Avenue in April 2001 at Rs.1,818 a square yard, apparently to construct an office for its Delhi unit. The Vishwa Samvad Kendra, the publicity wing of the VHP, was allotted 1,044 square metres on Rouse Avenue in March 2001 at Rs.88 lakh an acre. The Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, an RSS-affiliated organisation active in tribal areas, was allotted 506 square metres on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road on July 19 at Rs.88 lakh an acre, apparently to construct a complex for the 'amelioration and upliftment' of tribal people, a hostel and a free dispensary. The ABVP was allotted land on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg to run its organisation called the Students' Experience in Inter-State Living. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1918/19180180.htm _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ tambdimati: the Goa review is a community blog of original _/ art, writing, music, news and commentary from and about the _/ smallest state in the subcontinent. check out the newest _/ member of the Goanet family daily at _/ http://www.tambdimati.com. _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/