It’s DVS turn to face heat

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After former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, it is now the turn of his successor, D.V. Sadananda Gowda to face the heat of an investigation. The Lokayukta special court on Monday took cognizance of a complaint filed against Mr Gowda alleging that he had concealed information pertaining to his assets and had filed false affidavits with Bangalore Development Authority(BDA).

A sworn statement submitted by the complainant, Nagalakshmi Bai, stated that Mr Gowda’s wife Datty had purchased 7.5 guntas of gomala land in Jala Hobli in Bengaluru North taluk in violation of the rules. The complaint said that the land was part of around 29 acres of gomala land in Jala hobli, which was reserved for those belonging to the SC/ST communities. Ms Datty Gowda allegedly purchased the land from one Ravi in 2008 by paying Rs 4.70 lakh in cash. But in his statement of assets and liabilities submitted to the Lokayukta and the Election Commission, Mr Gowda made no mention of this property in which a palatial building is allegedly coming up without obtaining the mandatory sanction.

The complaint also said that Mr Gowda had concealed information pertaining to a property bought by him in Puttur in 1998. The former CM who was an MLA then, had acquired 10 cents of government land through the Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner and built a house there, the complainant claimed. The third offence, according to the complaint, pertains to the BDA site in HSR Layout, which was allotted to Mr Gowda under the CM’s discretionary quota. The land was allotted in 2007 and the former CM allegedly amalgamated his land with an adjacent plot allotted to food and civil supplies minister D.N. Jeevaraj. The complainant alleged that the former CM has filed a false affidavit with BDA stating he had no other site in his or in the name of his family members in the state. Mr Gowda allegedly made no mention of the site in his affidavits filed with the Election Commission and the Lokayukta.