Kurubarahalli Survey No.4, Alanahalli Survey No.41 and Chowdahalli Survey No.39

Mysore/Mysuru: In a big relief to land owners, the Karnataka High Court (HC) on Friday ruled that lands coming under Kurubarahalli Survey No.4, Alanahalli Survey No.41 and Chowdahalli Survey No.39 are private properties.

A single Judge Bench of the High Court comprising Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav dismissed the Government’s contention that the land coming under these Survey numbers is B-Kharab land (Government land) and upheld the land owners’ claim that they are the rightful owners of the landed properties as they have received them from the erstwhile Mysore Maharajas.

THE CASE: After the Government declared that about 2,000 acres of land collectively coming under Kurubarahalli Survey No.4, Alanahalli Survey No.41 and Chowdahalli Survey No.39 as B-Kharab land (Government land), hundreds of property owners who had purchased them from the Maharajas or got the property from the Maharaja as a gift were affected by the ruling, moved the High Court questioning the Government’s declaration. 

The property owners had claimed that the properties owned by them were either purchased by themselves or by their ancestors or gifted to them by the erstwhile Mysore Maharajas.

Incidentally, it was contended that the Maharaja got these lands as his private property through an agreement entered into on Jan.26, 1950 between the then Maharaja and the Government of India. 

Many advocates had filed petitions in the High Court on behalf of their land owner clients. The High Court, after hearing prolonged arguments and counter-arguments, gave the ruling yesterday through Video-conferencing,  thus bringing not only a huge relief for the property owners, but also putting an end to the row, which had been running for years.

Advocate O. Sham Bhat reacts

 Reacting to the High Court’s ruling, senior city Advocate O. Sham Bhat, who had argued for some of the property owners, said that the Court has directed the Revenue authorities to restore the Khata to the name of the property owners who had purchased the land from the Maharaja or from those who had originally bought from the Maharaja.

In 2010-11, the then Deputy Commissioner Harsha Gupta had declared that about 2,000 acres of land collectively coming under Kurubarahalli Survey No.4, Alanahalli Survey No.41 and Chowdahalli Survey No.39, as B-Kharab land, meaning Government land. Following the DC’s order, some property owners, who owned lands in these Survey Numbers, questioned the DC’s order in the DC’s Court. 

Later, when P.S. Vastrad became the Deputy Commissioner, he dropped the land coming under the said Survey numbers from B-Kharab classification and declared the land as A-Kharab. But as some individuals severely objected to his order, Vastrad withdrew his order classifying the land as A-Kharab. Thereafter, the row entered the corridors of the High Court. 

Even as the petitions regarding the row were pending before the Court, the then Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha, in May 2015, ordered that the land is B-Kharab land, following which several land owners again moved the High Court questioning the DC’s declaration.

Now the High Court has put to rest all the issues associated with the row by declaring that the lands coming under the three Survey Numbers are private properties.

Raghavendra Murthy, a property owner of Chowdahalli Survey No.39,  said that the High Court judgement on the row is clear. As such the Government should do the needful and restore the Khata of the land to the rightful property owners. The row which had been running for years has now ended with the HC giving a clear verdict on the issue, he added.

HC ruling is a victory for people: MLA Ramdas

Meanwhile, Krishnaraja Constituency MLA S.A. Ramdas, who had only a week ago said that the row would soon come to an end with Government intervention, said that the HC ruling in connection with Kurubarahalli Survey No.4, Alanahalli Survey No.41 and Chowdahlli Survey No.39, is a victory for the people. 

Pointing out that the High Court had been apprised that there were no petitions pending before any Court regarding the allotment of sites by MUDA and the then CITB in the Layouts formed by them on the lands coming under these three Survey Numbers, he said that in this backdrop, the Court was informed that there was no objection from anybody for handing over these Layouts to MUDA by the Revenue Department.

Asserting that his assurance on a permanent solution for the row would be found by the end of this month has become a reality, with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa most likely to pass a favourable order to this effect, Ramdas, under whose Constituency the above Survey numbers fall, said that he is thankful to the residents of MUDA Layouts formed in the land coming under the three Survey Numbers who have been waiting patiently for years and to all the Associations and Organisations who supported him in fighting for the cause of over 25,000 property owners.

It may be mentioned that when Siddharamaiah was the Chief Minister, his Cabinet had taken a decision exempting the MUDA and CITB-allotted sites in the above three Survey numbers from coming under the B-Kharab classification. Actually, the Cabinet decision was to be followed up by the Departments concerned to implement the same. Surprisingly, that never happened during Siddharamaiah’s period and even now MLA Ramdas says the Cabinet decision will be implemented by month end.