‘Amendment to land reforms Act bigger than mining scam’

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah termed the newly-amended Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, as “a scam bigger than illegal mining” as farmers are set to lose lands valued over ₹50,000 crore.

Noting that 13,814 cases related to land across the State would be recorded in the name of non-agriculturists, he said: “Each case involved at least four acres. That’s about 52,000 acres,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Maintaining that in the mining case only a few players had been involved, he said in the land cases, the entire government had fallen for the corporate world and real estate lobby. The illegal mining case was unearthed during the BJP tenure (2008-13) and was pegged at ₹35,000 crore. Illegal mining had become a big poll issue in 2013 and the BJP faced defeat across the state.

The government recently repealed sections 79 A and B and amended sections 63 and 80 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961. The Congress leaders termed the law as “black legislation” and the new law would destroy the farming community in the state. The new law enabled non-agriculturists to purchase agricultural land and it repealed the income limit.