Karnataka BJP Leader Files Complaint Against Sam Pitroda Over ‘Encroachment’ Of Forest Land Worth Rs 150 Crore

Sam Pitroda faces allegations of encroaching Bengaluru forest land worth Rs 150 crores. The complaint accuses Pitroda and former Forest Dept. officials of fraud, corruption, and illegal acquisition.

File Photo of Congress leader Sam Pitroda

Source : PTI

A complaint has been lodged against Congress leader Sam Pitroda, a close associate of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, with the Karnataka Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged encroachment of reserve forest land worth Rs 150 crore.  

Senior BJP leader and activist N.R. Ramesh filed the complaint on Monday, submitting supporting documents. According to news agency IANS, Ramesh alleged, “Sam Pitroda, who shares a close association with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, is implicated in a massive illegal land scam involving Karnataka’s Forest Department property worth over Rs 150 crore.”  

The complaint also names former Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka’s Forest and Environment Department, Javed Akhtar (IAS Retd.), who is currently the Chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), along with Principal Chief Conservators of Forests R.K. Singh and Sanjay Mohan, IANS reported. Additionally, Deputy Conservators of Forests of Bengaluru Urban Division, N. Ravindra Kumar and S. S. Ravishankar, have been accused. The complaint alleges fraud, corruption, illegal government land acquisition, and abuse of power.  

According to the complaint, on 23 October 1991, Sam Pitroda registered an organisation called the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) with the Mumbai Registrar of Co-Operative Societies. However, in 2010, the registration of FRLHT was cancelled upon Pitroda’s written request. Despite this, in 2008, another trust deed under the same name was registered at the Bangalore Sub-Registrar’s office in Byatarayanapura.  

Forest Dept Failed To Reclaim Govt Land Worth Over Rs 150 Crore, Due To ‘Bribery’ From Sam Pitroda: BJP Leader

Ramesh claimed that in 1996, Pitroda requested the Karnataka Forest Department to lease reserved forest land to FRLHT for medicinal plant conservation and research. Based on this request, the department leased 5 hectares (12.35 acres) of reserved forest land in ‘B’ Block of Jarakabande Kavalu near Yelahanka, Bengaluru, to FRLHT, Mumbai, for a period of five years. The lease was approved by the Ministry of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Government of India.

As per the complaint, the Karnataka Forest Department then extended the lease for another 10 years in 2001, which expired on 2 December 2011.  

The complaint alleges that despite the lease not being renewed, the Karnataka Forest Department has failed to reclaim the 12.35-acre government land, valued at over Rs 150 crore, due to alleged bribery from Sam Pitroda. “High-ranking officials in the Karnataka Forest Department, under Sam Pitroda’s political and financial influence, have not informed the central Ministry of Forest, Ecology and Environment that FRLHT’s lease expired on 2 December 2011,” Ramesh claimed, as per IANS. 

According to the complaint, FRLHT has continued using the reserved forest land for cultivating rare medicinal plants under the pretext of research and conservation. “Over the past 29 years, Sam Pitroda has reportedly earned crores of rupees annually from the sale of medicinal plant products grown on this government land,” Ramesh alleged.  

Sam Pitroda has previously served as an advisor to the Indian government’s telecom department under former prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. He is , originally from Odisha and currently heads the Indian Overseas Congress.