Governor objects to Ktka govt taking land back from rehab centre

The Karnataka government's indignity towards an esteemed Christian rehabilitation centre has drawn the displeasure of governor HR Bhardwaj who has called for a reassess of the situation.

The BJP government in a July 6 Cabinet meeting decided to take back 50 acres of land the state offered to Sumanahalli Society to treat leprosy-afflicted in and around Bangalore.

The society was formed in the year 1988 following the request of the then chief minister Devaraj Urs to Archbishop of Bangalore, urging him to establish a facility for "leprosy patients and other physically destitute persons". But, now that it stands on a prime location, the government is determined to take it back.

Echoing with various Christian activists and human rights organisations, the governor wrote to the Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, asking his government to renew the lease agreement for the sustenance of the society which shelters those affected by leprosy, HIV and disabilities.

This is the second time the governor has written to the chief minister. In his earlier letter the governor asked the state government not to take any action until the matter was examined.

The governor's secretary Baligar in that letter stated that the matter was taken "extremely serious as it concerns a minority institution reputed for its humanitarian work to the distressed strata of society."

However, still the government went ahead with its decision and issued a notification that it would not continue the lease agreement of the society. It was only willing to lease five acres of land.

The latest letter of the governor has questioned the government's proposed action and has sought an earliest reply.

According to the media, apart from the 50 acres of land, an adjacent 160-acre property with a Beggars Colony that houses 922 people, including 131 mentally disabled, 45 disabled and 402 elderly, is also to be seized by vested interests for commercial use.

The society's Director Fr. George Kannanthanam says the government has meted out "injustice to the deprived section of society."

Sumanahalli Society besides the welfare of leprosy affected has extended its services to HIV treatment, rehabilitation of the disabled and upliftment and education of the poor. The society won an award for the best NGO in Karnataka serving the disabled for 2007.