BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday issued notices to the state government and others while hearing a PIL questioning the allotment of land to Inter University Centre for Yogic Sciences (IUCYS) and the Central University of Karnataka (CU-K) in the precincts of Bio-Park on the Bangalore University (BU) campus.
A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Vice Chancellor, Bangalore University, Director and Commissioner of Technical Education, Principal Secretaries of the Departments of Higher Education, and Environment and Forest, the Chairman of Karnataka Biodiversity Board, the Director of Inter University Centre for Yogic Sciences and several others.
On March 17, the state government permitted BU to allot 15 acres of Bio-Park land to IUCYS and 10 acres to CU-K. On June 23, 2020, BU registered a lease deed in favour of IUCYS for 15 acres for a period of 30 years at a lease rental of `7.5 lakh per annum. On August 26, 2020, 10 acres of land in Sy No 94 was registered in the name of CU-K.
The petitioner, city-based advocate Dr K B Vijyayakumar, contended that BU, the state government and IUCYS are a party to the dance of destruction of greenery and sanctum sanctorum for various species of birds and trees, etc. The allottees, IUCYS and CU-K had not taken permission from any authority for the cutting of trees, shrubs and plants and clearing of vegetation, he alleged.
He sought directions to the Chief Secretary and Vice Chancellor of BU to cancel all allotments of land made to IUCYS and CU-K within BU and direct the university to explore alternative land outside the precincts of the Bio-Park and re-allocate it with approval from the state government. He also requested the court to issue directions to declare the Bio-Park as deemed forest land and BU to immediately appoint an official to nurture and develop all the Bio-parks.
The petitioner contended that Bio-Park extends to over 300 acres of green cover with multiple check-dams that have ramped up groundwater levels over the years. BU has been allotted about 1,112.04 acres of land by the Government on long lease. Of these, apart from the structures that belong to BU itself, land has been allotted to several other institutions.
Activist moves court against deputing teachers for non-teaching purposes
Bengaluru: A social activist moved the Karnataka HC with a PIL against arbitrary exercise of powers by the state government by transfer of teachers on deputation, and absorbing them into different departments without any rules. Contending that such transfer and absorption of staff to executive and administrative posts have been carried out at the behest of recommendation letters by ministers and MLAs, petitioner KC Rajanna said such orders have been made to the Social Welfare Department. A representation was submitted to the government to take back all these teaching staff and post them in the schools and colleges, but it wasn’t considered, the petitioner claimed.