Krishna rubbishes Yeddyruappa’s claims on land deals

BANGALORE - External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna late Monday denied

he had denotified lands acquired by the Karnataka government to favour some people when

he was chief minister of the sate during 1999-2004.

He was reacting to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s statement earlier Monday that not only he but several of his predecessors had denotified (freed from government control) the lands.

In a statement here Krishna said that between October 1999 and June 2004, over 2,000 acres of state’s land was denotified to be utilised by various government departments.

The land so freed was for projects like the construction of outer ring road in Bangalore and for utilisation by Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) and others, Krishna said.

Yeddyurappa had said during Krishna’s rule 633 acres of land was denotified.

Yeddyurappa gave details of land denotified in the last ten years and also residential sites allotted by chief ministers under their discretionary quota to contend that he has not favoured his children in land deals.

Yeddyurppa chose to come out with the details following allegations that an auto component manufacturing firm, in which his two sons are directors, was favoured in allotment of prime industrial plot of two acres at Jigani industrial estate in the outskirts of Bangalore in 2007 when he was deputy chief minister.

The firm got the allotment within 15 days of applying for the land.

Yeddyurappa denied any wrong doing or violation of law in the allotment.