BENGALURU: Describing the alleged multi-crore Shanthinagar Housing Cooperative Society scam as the “mother of all housing scams” in the state, former MLA A T Ramaswamy demanded that the state government take back the land allotted to the society.
The state government in 1984 had allotted 66.22 acres to the society at Srinivagilu village (Begur hobli) to carve out a layout. “The Shanthinagar Housing Cooperative Society scam is bigger than the Saradha chit fund scam that rocked West Bengal,” Ramaswamy told reporters here on Saturday.
Outlining the alleged irregularities committed by the society, he said that a few powerful individuals, in collusion with officials, had grabbed land worth over 66 acres worth over `3,000 crore.
“The land was originally allotted to be distributed among the members of the society, comprising minorities and SC/STs. However, the land ended up with powerful land grabbers,” he added.
Meanwhile, a bogus society in the same name was registered by creating false documents, he said and added that it then hatched a plan to grab the land allotted to the earlier society.
As a part of its “criminal conspiracy”, the bogus society formed a housing layout and distributed 156 sites, he alleged.
He alleged that within one month of allotment of the sites, all the allottees created a General Power of Attorney (GPA) in favour of 11 people, including D K Suresh, MP, and one Jayalakshmi Ravi.
Stating that Energy Minister D K Shivakumar’s role was evident in the alleged irregularities, he said, “We will knock the doors of all, including the state government, the governor and the judiciary for justice.”
Within seven years,
the GPA holders sold 143 of the 156 sites to a single family of one T A Venkatesh,
he said.
Prima facie there exist illegalities in the affairs of the Shanthinagar Housing Co-operative Society, he said.
“The state government should take immediate steps to cancel the land allotted to the society and re-distribute it among the landless families,” he urged.
Freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, who also spoke on the occasion, threatened to go on an agitation if the state government failed to initiate action against those involved in the alleged scam.