SR Hiremath, founder president of National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) on Friday demanded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to initiate criminal proceedings against minister for civil supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao for the delay in restoring the encroached land to the government.
Speaking with media persons, Hiremath said AT Ramaswamy Committee Report submitted in 2007 stated that Gundu Rao family was the number one encroacher of government land in the state. "In a significant development, enough pressure has been brought on the Gundu Rao family, in general and Dinesh Gundu Rao, in particular to implement the two eviction orders of Tahsildar, Bangalore (North additional) regarding the encroachment of government land (10 acres and 9 guntas) in Navaratna Agrahara village. The letter of Tahsildar (dated 30.7.1014) confirms the so-called voluntary surrender by Dinesh Gundu Rao and the government having taken possession of the same,'' Hiremath said.
Coming down heavily on minister Dinesh Gundu Rao for the delay in restoring the government land, he said the land was worth of Rs 120 crore. "I want to know why there was a delay of three years to surrender the land to the government,'' he said.
He said the tahsildar wrote a letter on July 30 to the Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore Urban to allocate funds for the fencing of the land. "The NCPNR congratulates the courage of the officials concerned for the actions against the No. 1 encroacher of government land and considers this as a small but significant step that is in the right direction,'' he said.
