PLANNING THE SANCTIONS NAGADEVANAHALLI LAYOUT- ONE LAYOUT, MULTIPLE PLANS LOKSEVA HOUSING SOCIETY- CO-OP. SOCIETY FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSE

     

By Firoz.T.Totanawala

The Bangalore Metro Reporter

15th March 2011 issue-

                             PLANNING THE SANCTIONS

    NAGADEVANAHALLI LAYOUT- ONE LAYOUT, MULTIPLE PLANS

LOKSEVA HOUSING SOCIETY- CO-OP. SOCIETY FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSE

The Lokseva Housing Co-operative Society floated by the KPSC employees provide a classic Text book case in the art of confusion. The best example for this confusion is its Nagadevahalli Layout, formed on 12 acres 3 Guntas of land. The BDA had sanctioned 165 sites in 1993 and later in 2006 another layout plan supposed to have been sanctioned provided 187 sites. This draft layout plan only has the signature of a petty official who had signed ‘For’ Deputy Director of Town Planning. Then, another sanctioned layout plan of 200 sites was prepared and no one knows which one is legal? Interestingly, the BDA has refused to sanction another modified plan for carving out sites from CA areas.

In our current issue, we bring to you the scams in Lokaseva Housing Co-operative Society which is floated by the KPSC employees for the KPSC employees, but, has already outlived its utility. After providing sites to members (in all 192,) the society should have been winded up, but, M N Gururaja alias M N Gururaja Rao, the secretary of the society converted it into a real estate firm forming many more layouts and selling the sites to public at market rates.

M N Gururaja Rao, presently the Assistant Secretary in the KPSC is also functioning as M N Gururaja in the Society. He has been the Secretary since its formation in the eighties. Despite the Co-operative Act stipulating to adopt model bye laws to all the Co-operative Societies in the State, this is the only society which cared too hoots for adopting the model bye law. As per the Act, every Co-operative Society shall have paid Secretary and no member or Director can become the Secretary let alone paid Secretary. But M N Gururaj, who has become a law unto himself, is still continuing as Secretary. To avoid departmental action, he is staying himself as M N Gururaj instead of his original and official name of M N Gururaja Rao. If troubles come, he can avoid the consequences by stating that M N Gururaj, the Secretary of the Lokaseva Housing Society is different from M N Gururaja Rao, the Assistant Secretary in KPSC!

Forget about all these. In the formation of its first layout at Nagadevanahalli, M N Gururaj has committed unimaginable scams but his high links at high places, has blinded the eyes of the Co-operative department officials who are supposed to take action against the omissions and commissions in the society.

In fact, the society had purchased 12 acres and 3 guntas of lands in Survey. No. 24 and 25 of Nagadevanahalli, bordering Ullal. The sale deed between the land owners and the society shows that M N Gururaj has signed as M N Gururaja Rao and the BDA had also sanctioned the layout plan of the society. It sanctioned 165 sites of various dimensions. M N Gururaj submitted a list of Members of the society totaling 192 members (which included around 34 set up members who paid only Rs. 100 as share fee). Deducting those who have not paid the sital amount, 165 sites were more than sufficient to cater to the needs of all the eligible members of the society.

But M N Gururaj had sold more than 200 sites in this layout! How could this happen when the total sanctioned sites were only 165? The fact is that M N Gururaj had unofficially purchased adjacent land and formed sites in that area also without caring to follow the law of the land. But there was a hitch. If somebody wanted to purchase a site in the layout if he went for legal opinion, the cat would be out of the bag. The fact that while the BDA had sanctioned only 165 sites and the society had sold 200 sites will not go undetected. To insulate himself against such detection of fraud, M N Gururaj tried to show a façade of legality. He submitted another draft layout plan in 2005 to the BDA. In the draft layout plan, 187 sites have been shown. That is a clear increase of 22 sites over the earlier sanctioned sites. Curiously, M N Gururaj had given that draft layout plan to many gullible purchasers to show that the society has formed 187 sites. To make it seem like an official copy, he got a petty official in BDA to ‘endorse’ the copy as ‘For’ Deputy Director Town Planning!

This is not the end of the road. M N Gururaj wanted to sell some sites as the land prices sky rocketed between the years 2006 to 2008. He wanted to form some more sites and make crores. He formed sites in the park areas too and submitted another modified areas plan. He had used all his influences to get the BDA to approve the modified plans. But, as the parks had already been handed over to the BBMP, the BDA refused the sanction.

In fact, M N Gururaj had cleverly manipulated the dimensions of the sites to increase the number of sites. He had formed sites of dimensions like 60 x 551/2”, 30 x 41, etc. By doing such manipulations, he increased the number of sites. But the question is – how could the BDA sanction sites measuring 30x41, 40x551/2 etc. Any answers??