Land allocated for International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy Trust at Kalaburagi and a research and development training centre at Aerospace Park near Bengaluru are at the heart of the allegations.
Published Sep 09, 2024 | 11:20 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 09, 2024 | 11:20 AM
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and his son and minister Priyank Kharge
When it rains, it pours. After Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, it is now Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s turn to face allegations of corruption, nepotism and questionable land allotment.
In the past decade, 24 acres of government land has been allotted to Kharge family-linked trust – Siddhartha Vihar Trust – on two different occasions. The first 19 acres were allotted to the trust in two parts – in 2014 and 2017 – for establishing an International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy Trust at Kalaburagi. The remaining five acres were for setting up a research and development training centre at Hi-Tech Defence Aerospace Park near Bengaluru in 2024.
Social activist Dinesh Kalalli and Opposition party leaders have accused the Congress government of not following norms in allotting the said lands.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife Radhabai Kharge, his son-in-law and Gulbarga (SC) MP Radhakrishna Doddamani, his sons – Minister for IT and BT Priyank Kharge and Rahul Kharge – are members of the Siddhartha Vihar Trust. Late Maruti Rao D Maley and Shantappa are also said to have been trust members.
24 acres of land has been allotted to Kharge family-owned trust in the last decade
Citing the reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), social Activist Dinesh Kalalli has alleged that though the trust did not furnish mandatory documents or have prior industry experience, the land was allocated to the Siddhartha Vihar Trust.
A total of 45.94 acres of land in the Hi-Tech Defence Aerospace Park near Bengaluru was allocated to 11 companies including trusts, with an expected investment of ₹1,208 crore in early 2024.
The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board’s (KIADB) State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) allotted five acres to the Siddhartha Vihar Trust under the Scheduled Caste quota.
The trust was allotted the Civic Amenity Site, referring to a piece of land that is earmarked for civic amenity in the aerospace park. The allotment came after the trust approached the KIADB, seeking land to set-up Research and Development Training Institute, with a planned investment worth ₹25 crore.
Meanwhile, land was allotted to other entities as well. 2.41 acres were allotted to ARM Square under the SC and ST quota, with ₹17.50 crores earmarked for the construction of a hotel, resort, and cottages on the allocated land. Advik Gateway was allotted 2.17 acres under the SC quota, with an expected investment of ₹47.92 crores for the development of residential apartments on this land.
However, allegations of corruption and conspiracy in the land allotment surfaced after Dinesh Kallahalli, a social activist filed a complaint with Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot on 23 August. In the complaint, he accused minister MB Patil of misusing power, violating board rules, and causing substantial financial losses to KIADB by improperly allotting land meant for civic amenities to non-industrial entities.
A total of six applications were submitted under the SC and ST quota for a 5-acre CA plot in the Hi-Tech Defence and Aerospace Park, specifically identified in AM4, near Bengaluru.
KIADB’s SLSWCC, responsible for reviewing these applications, examined each submission. As per the norms, applicants are required to attach various documents, including company transaction records, project reports, income tax records, land use sketches, and PAN card.
Out of the six applications, after verifying the applications and the required documents of the project sketch, only those from the Siddhartha Vihar Trust and Industrial Facilities Corporation were considered potentially viable by the committee for the approval to the CA site. The remaining four applications were deemed incomplete due to insufficient documentation.
This is where the controversy begins. As per official records, Siddhartha Vihar Trust did not submit PAN card, yet the vigilance committee led by Minister Patil went on to recommended that the application “may be considered” for the CA site allotment.
The document mentions that the Siddhartha Vihar Trust did not submit the mandated Pan Card with its application.
Aiming to establish a research and development training center, the trust submitted a project report, land use map, trust deed, and other documents, but failed to provide the mandatory PAN card.
What raised questions of corruption is that the same committee rejected four other applications for insufficient documentation. For example, Ananda Social and Education Trust’s trustee Mahadevprasad submitted an application on 23 February. He was rejected due to the absence of a site plan and other required documents.
The trust mentions in the document that it doesn’t have any experience in the sector.
Industrial Facilities Corporation’s application, submitted by CG Srinivasan on the same day sought the land for constructing housing apartments with an expected investment of ₹125 crores. Initially, this application was accepted and recommended for further consideration. Interestingly, though it had all the required documents, its application was rejected.
Activist Dinesh Kalalli alleges: “This CA site being allocated to the Kharge family run trust is in itself a conflict of interest. Mallikarjun Kharge is the Congress president and his son and Minister Priyank Kharge is influential in the government. Though several companies had complied to the rules, this trust was awarded CA site, rejecting the remaining applications.”
“In the committee proceedings, it is clearly mentioned that they have not submitted PAN card, which is mandatory, along with the allocation. Despite this, they were allocated sites. Moreover, the trust does not have any prior industry experience. This process of land allocation lacks transparency,” Kalalli alleged that the KIADB has violated rules while allocating the CA site. He was referring to the lack of experience self proclaimed by the trust in the document they submitted.
Activists and opposition leaders from the BJP and JD(S) have accused Kharge and his family of abusing their constitutional positions to secure the allotment of five acres, despite not submitting the mandatory documents or possessing the required industry experience.
Even as BJP leaders accused the government of ‘allotted the land at throwaway’ prices, Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT & BT and RDPR, said allegations of subsidies or reduced cost were untrue.
Another allegation against the Kharge family is regarding the 19 acres of the government land, which was allotted on a lease basis to the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy Trust, which is part of Siddhartha Vihar Trust, in 2014.
The leased land is estimated to be worth ₹40 crore, it was allotted to the Kharge family-run trust during the previous Siddaramaiah-led-Congress government.
Initially, the government allotted 16 acres of land in Survey No 88/1 to the International Trust for Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy for a period of 30 years on lease basis at Kusunoor village in Kalaburagi taluk on 4 March, 2014. Then, the lease price was fixed at 10 percent of the prevailing market price for 16 acres.
It was mentioned that the lease tariff will be hiked by 10 percent once in two years and the land was allotted for setting up a research centre for Pali and Sanskrit languages. Additionally, three more acres of land in Survey No 88/1 was also sanctioned in 2016 with same conditions including the 30 years lease period.
In the application submitted in 2016, the trust claimed that the land will be dedicated to Pali language research and only intends to pursue education with no profit-making ventures and that it will be governed by representatives from the Central Sanskrit University and state government.
Siddhartha Vihar Trust also said that due to its non-profit nature, the trust cannot afford the high cost of lease and requested that the land be allotted without collecting lease money for the first two of the 30-years of lease. Considering the trust’s application, the government exercised its powers under Rule 27 of the Karnataka Land Grant (KLG) rules, 1969, and relaxed Rule 23, altering the land on lease basis to free of cost for a period of 30 years on 15 March, 2017.
Karnataka’s Minister for IT and BT Priyank Kharge, taking to X to respond to allegations by BJP MP Lahar Singh, said that the institute was established by Department of Human Resources, GoI, and Siddhartha Vihar Trust represented by Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi and Department of Higher Education, GoK. He added that the request for assistance from Siddhartha Trust to develop the institute was accepted by then Karnataka government when BJP’s Jagadish Shettar was the chief minister who announced support in 2013-2014 state budget.
. @LaharSingh_MP avare. Looks like your political brokering job isn’t doing too well and you need to win favour of your bosses.
Here are some facts for you:
The International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy, Kalaburgi has been established by the… https://t.co/Lket9dCxnk
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) September 2, 2024
Expressing concerns over Karnataka government’s decision to lease 19 acres of prime land in Kusunoor village at Kalaburagi to the trust, the CAG report stated that the land was not only allocated at free of cost but also “not in larger interest of the public”.
The report pointed out that the lease granted at no cost for 30 years under Rule 19 of the KLG Rules 1969 appears to have bypassed crucial regulatory requirements, including the stipulation that educational institutions must be in existence for at least five years before applying for land.
Indian Audit and Accounts Department’s report on 19 acre land to the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy Trust in 2017. (the-file.in)
According to the audit report: “Initially, 16 acres of land were leased to the trust at the cost of 10 percent of the current market value, with a 10 percent increase every two years. Following a request from the trust, the government leased an additional 3 acres under the same terms.”
“However, the government modified its orders on 4 March 2014, and 24 February 2016, to lease the land free of cost. Despite this, rent was not demanded until the date of the order that granted the land for free,” mentioned in the report.
It also read,”According to government orders, rent should be determined based on the current market value of the land. But, the department calculated the rent using the guidance value from the Stamps and Registration Department, which was ₹15,60,000 per acre. A total of ₹24,60,000 was collected as rent for 16 acres in 2014-15. Meanwhile, rent for the periods 2015-16 and 2016-17 was not demanded, nor was rent for the additional 3-acre lease in 2016-17. The outstanding lease amount stands at ₹66,94,272, including ₹9,84,672 in interest,” the report stated that the said trust failed to pay the lease for two years from 2015.
Under Rule 19(5)(i) of the KLG Rules 1969, land cannot be leased to any educational institution that is not recognised and has not existed for at least five years before applying for the lease. But in this scenario, the land was allotted to the trust one month since the formation of the institution, the CAG report said.
The CAG’s argument was that the Pali Institute was created and registered on 14 February 2014, and the land was granted just a month later, on 14 March. Responding to news reports on CAG’s observations, Priyank Kharge pointed out that Central Sanskrit University, one of the Founder trustees of the Pali Institute, was established in 1970. To counter BJP’s jibes of it being a “Kharge family trust”, Priyank Kharge said the trustees of Pali Institute include Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburgi, Commissioner of Public Instruction, Vice Chancellor of Central Sanskrit University, Chairman of Siddhartha Vihar Trust, Radhakrishna, now MP.
Documents Credit: the-file.in
(Edited by Neena)
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