State to bring in anti land grabbing bill

BANGALORE: The state government has decided to recall the Karnataka Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Bill-2007, which is pending for approval with President Pratibha Patil, and bring in a modified version of it by including those lands which come under the ambit of Wakf Board and Muzrai Department.Briefing newsmen here on Thursday, Higher Education Minister Dr V S Acharya said the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, had taken a decision to promulgate a revised version of the Bill.The original Bill, which was passed by both the Houses of the Karnataka Legislature, was sent to the Governor for his consent and it was, in turn, referred to President Pratibha Patil, Dr Acharya said.He said the modified Bill would also include those lands belonging to the Wakf Board and the Muzrai Department , which had been excluded from the 2007 Bill.He said that the Cabinet had approved of the new Draft Bill against land grabbing and encroachment on properties belonging to state government agencies, Wakf Board and Muzrai Department.It may be recalled that the JD(S)-BJP coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy brought the 2007 Bill following the recommendations of the Joint Committee of Legislature on Land Encroachment which is headed by A T Ramaswamy, which had unearthed grabbing of lands belonging to different departments and the statutory bodies to the tune of over Rs 30,000 crore in Bangalore city and many Bangalore urban districts.The new bill allows initiation of criminal prosecution not only of the accused but also of the government employees who actively promote, abet and assist land grabbing.It also entails a jail term ranging from one to three years, besides penalty, for the guilty.