V K Sasikala's property near Chennai attached under Benami law by taxmen
Chennai, Sep 8: Over a three acre land parcel, linked to V K Sasikala, situated at nearby Payyanoor village was on Wednesday provisionally attached by the Income Tax authorities under the prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act.
A Provisional Attachment Order pasted on the premises in the village restrained Sasikala, a former key aide of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, from transferring the property as per the provisions of the BPTA.
She was eased out of the AIADMK years ago following her incarceration in a Bengaluru jail in 2017 after she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case.
The Payyanoor premises reportedly comprises a bungalow as well and in total, the property is worth crores of Rupees.
The 3-acre and 52 cents property purchased in 1994 was attached under Section 24 (3) of the Act, which outlines the procedure.
It says, "Where the Initiating Officer is of the opinion that the person in possession of the property held benami may alienate the property during the period specified in the notice, he may, with the previous approval of the Approving Authority, by order in writing, attach provisionally the property in the manner as may be prescribed, for a period not exceeding ninety days."
Noting that a show cause notice has already been issued to her in respect of the property, the provisional attachment order said the authority is of the opinion that the property may be alienated and hence "it is considered expedient and necessary to provisionally attach the property," under the Act.
She has faced similar action in respect of other properties in recent years.
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Karnataka govt seeks agency to manage rural drinking water units: Minister
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the state government is working to appoint an agency to manage clean drinking water units in rural areas.
The state Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister was responding to a question by Hirekerur MLA U B Banakar in the legislative assembly.
"In the rural areas of the state, many clean drinking water units have been set up under corporate social responsibility (CSR) grants, including contributions by MLAs and MPs, and handed over to gram panchayats. After the maintenance period, problems have arisen in keeping these units operational," Priyank said.
He added that a proposal has been made to award a maintenance contract to one of the country’s reputed drinking water unit manufacturing companies, but so far, no companies have come forward to take up the work.
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"The government is continuing its efforts and will resolve this problem soon," he said.
On a query regarding fluoride content in water, the minister said water quality testing is being conducted monthly in all zilla panchayats.
"Laboratories have been opened for this purpose. Around 6.5 lakh water samples have been tested across the state, and water testing kits have been provided to villages," he added.
