Bangalore, Oct 12 (DHNS): The government’s efforts to have special courts to try cases of encroachment of government land across the State have yielded results with the President giving his assent for a law in this regard.

The Karnataka Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Bill, 2011, was passed by the legislature in 2011 but it did not get the then governor’s nod.

Later it was sent for the President’s assent. “Law Minister T B Jayachandra has informed me that the President has approved the bill and it would reach the state soon,” said Revenue Minister Srinivas Prasad.

Prasad, said the government would soon hold a meeting with the High Court chief justice to appoint judges to the special courts so that all the cases pertaining to land encroachments as pointed out by the committees of A T Ramaswamy, V Balasubramanian and others.

Referring to reported comments by freedom fighter H S Doreswamy in a TV channel that Prasad should give up his ministerial post as he is unwell and can’t handle the department, Prasad said, “The freedom fighter is being misused and he is not aware as to what I am doing as revenue minister. On Friday, I confronted him in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Law Minister Jayachandra in Vidhana Soudha as to why he was giving statements in the media without even bothering to check with me as to what I am up to.”

Doreswamy, along with others, is on an indefinite protest demanding action by the government against land grabbers. On Friday he had met the CM and Jayachandra to explain the reasons for the on going agitation.

Prasad said Doreswamy has been alleging that the revenue department has failed to act. But he has never bothered to check with the department regarding the efforts made to retrieve the encroached government land.

“We are waiting for the President’s permission to have courts. Doreswamy says the government should just take back the encroached land. But should we not follow the rules to do so?” he said.