The state government is all set to handover land records to School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMC) and headmasters, laying the onus of protecting government property from encroachers on them.

These documents of Bengaluru North and South zone schools were handed over to the respective SDMCs in an official event. The handover is done by the department of primary and secondary education in association with the Bengaluru Zilla Panchayat and revenue department.

Revenue Minister R Ashoka said, “It came to us as a surprise that as many as 522 schools in Bengaluru (amounting to 60 % of the government schools) did not have any records at all. This makes it very easy for encroachers. There is an immediate need to protect the land belonging to the education department. This is a crucial step in that process. The land that was donated by many philanthropists for constructions of schools in the past must rightfully serve the purpose. 

“I will ask the district collector of all districts to ensure a similar initiative is undertaken all over the state. Now is the time to identify and allocate land for construction of schools, Anganwadis and burial grounds. Else, there we will encounter challenges in the future. Headmasters of schools must examine basic facilities available in their schools. Land records must be investigated, and feedback must be given to subdivisions of the revenue department,” he said.

Minister for primary and secondary education, BC Nagesh said that with the intentions of land grabbing being very high in Bengaluru in particular. In such a situation, schools must be watchful. Pre-British era, India was a socialist society. People were good willed. There was no concept of stamp papers and sub registrar’s offices. The sun and land were witness to transactions between the donors and the government.

“Even till date, we have such mentality but today, a small minority of people think otherwise and turn very greedy. Indians, as suggested by Hinduism, believed that knowledge of medicine, education and food must not be treated as commercial commodities. When we attach a price to everything and become money minded, we take the wrong path,” he said.  

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