Bengaluru: The present state government led by Siddaramaiah ordered dropping of 1,300 acres of land in April 2014, of the 3,546 acres notified for acquisition for the Dr. Shivaram Karanth layout project, Yeddyurappa’s counsel C.V. Nagesh told the High Court.
“When the present government itself dropped a whopping 1,300 acres from being acquired, how can the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) allege that former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s direction to delete a mere 257 acres had frustrated the entire project,” questioned senior counsel C.V. Nagesh during the hearing of petitions filed by Yeddyurappa questioning corruption cases registered against him by the ACB.
Arguing that the present government, which came to power in May 2013, could have taken steps to form the layout as 2,800 acres of identified land (out of 3,546 acres) was still available, Nagesh questioned ACB’s contention that it was Yeddyurappa’s order for deletion of 257 acres that led to quashing of the project.
Instead, the present government ordered for deletion of 1,300 acres, which included lands belonging Byrathi Basavaraj, MLA, said Nagesh while terming that some exigency as it was elections for Lok Sabha could have made the government denotify lands.
