The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Karnataka filed a complaint before the Karnataka Lokayukta on September 17 against former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa for dereliction of duty in the alleged illegal sale of a civic amenities (CA) site. Filed by K Mathai, AAP spokesperson and former Karnataka Administrative Services officer, the complaint also named BJP MLA M Chandrappa, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Chairman and MLA SR Vishwanath, and former BDA Commissioners Rajesh Gowda, and Bharath Lal Meena.
Mathai accused the BDA of illegally selling a CA site reserved for a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)-run Kannada medium school to Chandrappa under pressure from then Chief Minister Yediyurappa. The site in question is on a 100-feet-wide road in Kengeri Upanagara's second block of Sir M Visvesvaraya Layout.
The site was allegedly sold for a fraction of its market worth to a trust supported by Chandrappa at Yediyurappa's request, according to the complaint. It further stated that the site was first assigned to BBMP to build a Kannada medium school in February 2010 and in July that year, the BDA formally issued an allotment certificate to the site.
A report in the Deccan Herald stated that MLA Chandrappa had written to Yediyurappa in June 2010 requesting him to allot the said site for the construction of a school and convention centre for his Devraj Urs Education Society. Chandrappa asked Yediyurappa to allot an alternative site as the BDA had rejected his application for the allotment of a CA site in the Kumaraswamy layout. Alternative CA sites are allotted only to those to whom sites have not been handed over for various reasons. In this case, the BDA said that 14 trusts had applied for the CA site at the Kumarswamy layout along with MLA Chandrappa and that he was not allotted a site.
Later in November 2010, the BDA denied Chandrappa’s request for an alternative site as his trust was never given a site at Kumaraswamy Layout and therefore was not qualified for an alternative location. The BDA held a board meeting in February 2011, where they decided to allot the site which was initially allotted to the BBMP to MLA Chandrappa. “Due to pressure from the CM, Chandrappa was allotted an alternative site for construction of a school and community hall illegally by the BDA and within 3 months by cancelling the site allotted for BBMP Kannada school,” Mathai alleged in his complaint. The BDA does not have the authority to reallocate a site previously allotted to the BBMP.
He further alleged that “Chandrappa applied to BDA in November 2021 to buy said site. In December 2021, BDA executed the sale deed of the said CA site in favour of Chandrappa at a price much lower than the market price.”
Mathai demanded, "necessary action against BDA Commissioner and all connected current and former officials who were involved in this scam and illegal allotment of the site to MLA M Chandrappa be initiated and the allotment be cancelled.”
This comes a day after the Karnataka Lokayukta police filed an FIR against Yediyurappa in a corruption case. He has moved the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the case. The plea seeks to challenge the recent Karnataka High Court ruling that reinstated a private complaint against Yediyurappa, his son and BJP state vice president BY Vijayendra, and others over corruption allegations.