Bangalore: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has said that special courts will be constituted to try land encroachment cases and, if need be, the State Government will bring in legislation to tackle the growing menace.

In an interview to The Hindu on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition Government in the State, the Chief Minister said the first few months of governance were indeed a "shock" to him. "I never believed in the first instance that Government property can be usurped, more so, in the capital city of Bangalore."

On the constitution of a special court, the Chief Minister said he would call on Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Cyriac Joseph and seek his cooperation. On the part of the Government, a special cell comprising senior officials of the Law Department, the Home Department, the Directorate of Prosecutions, Revenue Department and others would be constituted to take quick action in evicting the encroachers, taking charge of the property and putting them up for sale.

Report

The interim report of the A.T. Ramaswamy-led joint legislature committee had categorically spelled out that nearly 13,500 acres of land valued at over Rs. 27,000 crore had been encroached. "The Government will go by the recommendations of the Ramaswamy committee," the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said during the next eight months of his tenure as Chief Minister, he would focus on the implementation of various development projects that had been initiated apart from the implementation of the welfare programmes. Special focus would be made to the upgradation of infrastructure in Bangalore and the adjoining areas coming under the jurisdiction of the Greater Bangalore Authority (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike).

Sites

He said the State Government would work at providing houses and sites to all classes of people in Bangalore. The Bangalore Development Authority has been directed to build two lakh houses and allot 50,000 sites during the coming year.

Farm loans

On the proposal to waive farm loans, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the waiver scheme would be announced in about a fortnight. The details were being worked out by a team of officials of the Cooperation Department in consultation with the cooperative banks.

On the occasion of the first anniversary, the Chief Minister, who was visibly overwhelmed, said that to lead a Government is "without doubt, an honour and I am indeed blessed that I have been given the opportunity to serve the people of this great State. What makes it even more special is that this is the year of Suvarna Karnataka, the 50th anniversary of the formation of the State."

The Chief Minister said that if the feedback from the public is any measure, the coalition Government had done well although there is still much more to be done. There also need not be any anxiety over the transfer of power from the Janata Dal (Secular) to the BJP scheduled to take place in eight months. "Karnataka has now emerged as a model State in coalition governance and I am proud of it," he added.

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