Govt sets up panel after former Karnataka MLA flags Rs 80-crore land scam

Bengaluru: A high-level committee of senior revenue officials will probe the multi-crore land scam involving alleged large-scale forgery of revenue records and illegal takeover of over 16 acres of govt land in KG Thornahalli village in Malur taluk of Kolar district.

The govt’s decision to set up the panel comes a day after former Malur MLA KS Manjunatha Gowda raised the issue.

Gowda alleged that the land was originally recorded as govt property in official records as early as 1961. However, he claimed that subsequent documents were fabricated to show that the land had been granted to a group of farmers on Jan 14, 1963, and later sold to a Bengaluru resident. According to him, the current market value of the disputed land is estimated to exceed Rs 80 crore.

Supporting his claims, the former MLA submitted detailed documentation of original records to tahsildar Roopa. He also alleged that no records exist for the land between 1963 and 2024, and that the issue came to light only when an application was made for a certified copy of documents in 2024. He said the shirastedar overseeing the land records section had pointed out suspicion in the documents, indicating possible irregularities. “The tahsildar, after noticing doubts expressed by lower-rank officials, should have cross checked the documents. But they have failed to do so and were cleared to issue a khata,” he alleged.

Following the allegations, Rajendra Kumar Kataria, IAS, additional chief secretary, revenue department, constituted a high-level committee comprising four senior revenue officials to collect all original documents and compare them with the records alleged to be forged.

Kataria told TOI that the committee will gather relevant details and submit a comprehensive report to the department. “The allegations that fake documents were created and submitted to the court to facilitate land encroachment are serious. We will take all relevant records and subject them to forensic science laboratory testing,” he added.