Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda has refuted allegations of unlawfully acquiring 12.35 acres of government land in Bengaluru. BJP leader N R Ramesh accused Pitroda of securing the land, valued at approximately Rs 150 crore, with the assistance of five senior government officials, including members of the forest department. Ramesh, a former councillor of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike , has lodged formal complaints with the Enforcement Directorate and the Karnataka Lokayukta, urging them to investigate the matter.
In a statement shared on social media platform X, Pitroda categorically denied the accusations, stating, “I do not own any land, home, or stocks in India.” He further emphasized that during his tenure with the Indian government—serving under Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi in the mid-1980s and Dr. Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2014—he never received any salary. Pitroda, who currently resides in the United States, also asserted, “I have never in my entire life—spanning 83 years—paid or accepted any bribe, in India or in any other country.”
The controversy centers around the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions , an organization registered by Pitroda on October 23, 1993, in Mumbai. According to Ramesh’s complaint, Pitroda requested the Karnataka State Forest Department to lease a portion of reserve forest land for the conservation and research of medicinal herbal plants. In response, the department allotted five hectares of reserve forest land at ‘B’ Block, Jarakabande Kaval near Yelahanka, Bengaluru, on a five-year lease in 1996. This lease was subsequently extended for an additional ten years, expiring on December 2, 2011.
Ramesh alleges that despite the lease’s expiration, FRLHT continued to occupy the land without authorization. He claims that the Karnataka Forest Department failed to reclaim the property over the past 14 years, during which the land’s value has appreciated significantly. The BJP leader contends that FRLHT has been utilizing the land for pharmaceutical activities, generating an estimated Rs 5-6 crore in unauthorized profits annually.
In his complaint, Ramesh has called for criminal proceedings against all individuals involved in the alleged land acquisition, including the complicit officials. He asserts that the continued occupation of the land post-lease constitutes a violation of legal protocols and represents a significant loss to the state exchequer.
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