The BJP, on January 3, 2018, accused Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah of denotifying 2.39 acres of land near Lalbagh in the heart of Bengaluru city, meant for a park and public amenities, in favour of a private real estate developer. Former deputy chief minister R Ashok, said the land near Lalbagh botanical gardens was meant for a park and public amenities, which Siddaramaiah allegedly denotified for purposes other than what it was reserved for.
“The Siddaramaiah government allowed denotification of 2.39 acres of land at Siddapura village. It was a civic amenity site, earmarked for a park or other public use. The land was denotified to favour a private developer,” he told reporters. He said Revenue Department’s records, showed that Lalbagh area is in Siddapura village. The BJP leader showed ‘documents’ to back his claim that the Urban Development Department passed an order on November 18, 2014, denotifying the land.
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He said the previous government had turned down the proposal to denotify the land. “However, once Congress came to power, the denotification took place,” said Ashok. He said that his party would petition the Governor and seek his permission, to prosecute Siddaramaiah. The chief minister, however, trashed the charges, stating that the ‘BJP was levelling baseless allegations’.