A complaint has been filed against the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Priyank Kharge regarding the acquisition of five acres of land from the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB). Governor Thawarchand Gehlot has written a letter to the state government to explain the matter. After Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister Priyanka Kharge is in trouble now. In the wake of BJP's complaint against Minister Priyank Kharge regarding the acquisition of five acres of land from KIADB, Governor Thawarchand has written to the state government seeking clarification on the case. The BJP petition sought the removal of Kharge from the cabinet. Leader of the Opposition in the K’taka Legislative Council Chalawadi Narayanaswamy had lodged a complaint with Governor Thawarchand Gehlot against Minister Priyank Kharge regarding the acquisition of five acres of land by KIADB for Siddhartha Vihara Education Trust. Priyank is a trustee of the beneficiary Siddhartha Vihar Trust, and his brother Rahul Kharge is the chairman.
The BJP has pointed to several alleged irregularities in KIADB’s allocation of CA sites. At a press conference, Priyank Kharge alleged that the BJP is targeting the Kharge family and eventually wants to destabilize the government. Kharge challenged the BJP to identify any illegality in the allocation of the CA to the trust for a skill development centre. “We have not sought any subsidy, nor deferred payment for the sites. Is there any law preventing us from applying for the sites?” he said.Background: In February this year, the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) issued a notification for allotment of civic amenities (CA) plots in industrial areas set up by it. The CA sites were meant for centres of research and development, innovation, and excellence; skill development/technical institutes; educational institutions; offices of government or public sector units; etc. A total 24.1 per cent of the total sites area developed by the KIADB is reserved for ST/ST entrepreneurs from the state. This year, applications were sought for the allotment of 193 CA sites reserved for SCs/ STs, spread across industrial areas in 12 districts.
The CA site at the centre of the controversy is a 5-acre plot at the Hi Tech Defence and Aerospace Park Phase-1 (Hardware Sector) in Bengaluru Urban district. The land parcel is part of 45.94 acres set aside for civic amenities at the park, to be allocated under the SC quota. The Siddhartha Vihar Trust built the popular Buddha Vihar complex, a Buddhist spiritual centre spread over 24 acres off Sedam Road outside Kalaburagi (formerly Gulbarga) in northern Karnataka. In its application to KIADB, the trust asked for the CA site to build a not-for-profit skill development centre and training institute at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore. The promoters were supposed to put in Rs 10 crore, and another Rs 10 crore was to be raised in loans. The skill development centre, which was expected to be headed by Rahul Kharge, reportedly had plans to collaborate with the Indo-German Training Centre. The Trust had sought either a 2.17-acre AM-3 plot or a 5-acre AM-4 plot at the industrial park. Under the lease-cum-sale agreement, the price of the plot in question was Rs 2.8 crore per acre.