Wed Mar 26 16:10:58 UTC 2025: ## Karnataka Government Halts Land Transfer to Congress Party Amidst Legal Challenge

**Bengaluru, March 26, 2025** – The Karnataka State government has been temporarily blocked from transferring a significant parcel of land to the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). A Division Bench of the High Court, responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), has ordered a status quo on the land transfer until April 21st.

The 2,988.29 sq.m plot of land, owned by the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), was controversially allotted to the KPCC on February 25th for a price representing only 5% of its market value. This decision directly contradicts a February 17th resolution by the HDMC council, which rejected the land transfer and designated the land for the construction of a water reservoir.

The PIL was filed by two HDMC councillors, Beerappa and Santosh H. Chavan, who argued that the government’s actions violated norms for public land allocation. They highlighted that the land was originally granted to the HDMC by Indian Railways for water reservoir construction, and that the Dharwad district in-charge Minister had pushed for the transfer to the KPCC for their office building.

The court, noting that the land is public property, expressed concern over the significantly undervalued sale. The State Advocate-General subsequently provided an undertaking to maintain the status quo until the next hearing on April 21st. The court’s decision prevents the transfer until the legality of the allocation is fully examined.

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