Alert Tahsildar smells a rat; writes to MUDA on 1.15-acre land in Vijayanagar Second Stage

Land History

• Apr. 1, 1981: CITB issues primary land acquisition notification
• Mar. 29, 1984: MUDA issues final notification
• Dec. 5, 1991: MUDA pays compensation of Rs. 50,000 per acre
• Feb. 16, 2005: RTC records show that MUDA had acquired the land
• Feb. 7, 2006: MUDA Officer denotifies land without authorisation

By S.T. Ravikumar

Mysore/Mysuru: The spotlight is back on high land cost. As land prices continue to soar in the city, so do the attempts to grab land by creating fake documents and other fraudulent ways.

Even as there are suspicions that land mafia is operating in Mysuru in connivance with Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Revenue Department and other officials of Departments concerned, many incidents of irregularities or lapses regarding land have come to light of late.

In one such incident that goes to prove the suspicion, a 1.15 acre prime land worth crores of rupees, adjoining the 60 ft Main Road near Podar School in Vijayanagar 2nd Stage has been found to be denotified.

Case details

The then City Improvement Trust Board (CITB), now MUDA on Apr. 1, 1981, issued the primary notification to acquire parcels of land coming under Hinkal Grama Panchayat’s Survey Nos. 63 to 250, to form Vijayanagar 2nd Stage Residential Layout.

Later, MUDA issued the final notification on Mar. 29, 1984 and formally acquired the land, following which the same was notified in the State Gazette, with the then Under-Secretary of Urban Development Department P. Santana Krishna signing the order. Upon acquiring the land, MUDA on Dec. 5, 1991, announced a compensation for the whole of acquired land at Rs. 50,000 per acre which also included 1 acre and 15 guntas of land coming under Survey No. 105, belonging to one K.V. Vittalrao. 

Subsequent to the acquisition and payment of compensation, this 1.15 acre land was recorded in the Mysuru Taluk Office RTC records on Feb. 16, 2005 that MUDA had acquired the land under M.R. No. 82  as per order No. HUD-82, MIE/82.

Later on Feb. 7, 2006, the then MUDA Special Land Acquisition Officer arbitrarily denotified the said acquired land (1.15 acre coming under Hinkal Survey No. 105)  without any Government order or a Court order in place.

Khata registered

Thereafter, using a copy of denotification of the said land, the then Mysuru Taluk Tahsildar registered the khata pertaining to the said land in the name of a woman. As the khata was done, the land subsequently changed hands quickly. Now, it has been discovered that the RTC of the said land (1.15 acre) stands in the name of one Venkatachala Reddy, son of late Kondareddy (No. MRT 50/2020-21).

What is to be noted here is that how the then Special Land Acquisition Officer, who has no authority whatsoever, could denotify this acquired prime land when neither the Government nor the Chief Minister has any powers to denotify any land once acquired, in the absence of any Court order.

Now, how the RTC was issued in the name of a woman, when even the khata was not done in the name of the original land owner, is a million dollar question.

Tahsildar finds deal suspicious

The irregularity came to light when the current RTC holder (Venkatachala Reddy) went to the Taluk Office to pay land (Revenue) tax. The current Tahsildar K.R. Rakshith, sensing something wrong, did not permit payment of tax. 

Thereafter, Rakshith wrote to MUDA’s Special Land Acquisition Officer on July 19, 2021, asking for submission of a report along with all supporting documents and maps on whether or not the said land was indeed acquired by MUDA on Mar. 29, 1984.

MUDA Chairman reacts

MUDA Chairman H.V. Rajeev told Star of Mysore that the issue of denotification of 1.15 acre land coming under Hinkal Survey No. 105, has just come to his notice.

“I will thoroughly scrutinise all the records pertaining to the said land and if the land is indeed denotified, a thorough probe will be ordered. Any land cannot be denotified once it has been acquired and the same has been notified in the Gazette,” he said.

“No officer has the powers to denotify the land in the absence of any Court order or the Government’s intervention. However, strict action will be initiated if irregularities or lapses are found to have taken place and action will be taken as per law if anyone is found guilty,” he added.