The state government on Tuesday ordered a special investigation team to examine allegations of encroachment upon government land against the Art of Living Foundation and linked entities.
Event Context
An order by the state revenue department said that the 11-member SIT was directed to verify the findings of an October 2025 land survey mandated by the state high court, which had “prima facie revealed” that trustees of the Art of Living Foundation, along with certain others, had “systematically, directly and indirectly encroached upon more than 290 acres of government gomala land” in Bengaluru South taluk through government lease arrangements, agreements with land grantees and “allegedly doubtful grant documents.”
The government has directed the SIT to submit its findings within three months.
The Art of Living Foundation did not respond to HT’s queries for comment till late on Tuesday.
The order said that senior IAS officer Amlan Aditya Biswas will head the panel, which includes senior revenue officials, land records officers, a retired district and sessions judge serving as litigation management adviser and other government officials. Yelahanka tehsildar Kalimulla has been appointed member secretary.
The probe’s assigned mandate extends beyond establishing the extent of the alleged encroachment. The order said the SIT has been directed to: “Verify land records, lease deeds, and grant documents. Identify legal heirs and beneficiaries of land grants. Detect forged or fraudulent documents, if any…. Examine compliance with lease conditions. Conduct fresh surveys using satellite imagery and geospatial data. Identify public roads, water bodies, and civic amenities within the disputed area…. Hear all stakeholders, including the organisation and other respondents”
The inquiry covers allegations involving the Foundation, Veda Vignana Maha Vidyapeeth Institute, Sumeru Global Support Solutions Private Limited, Sumeru Realty Private Limited, and other respondents named in the high court proceedings and any other people or organisations found to be in possession of government land in and around Kaggalipura village.
The order added that the alleged encroachments involve survey numbers 160, 164/1, 164/2, 150 and 137 of the village, where government land, lakes and stormwater drains are located. The government also alleged that the land under occupation was not being used for the purpose for which it had originally been granted.
The order alleged that the organisation expanded its control beyond the leased extent by inducing private landowners to execute lease agreements, acquiring land through gift deeds or agreements from actual or alleged grantees and operating through other trusts and foundations.
Team Analysis
The government also alleged that repeated attempts to conduct the survey were obstructed by “certain local residents and persons associated with the organisation.” It said officials faced difficulties because no revenue village named Udayapura exists in the area despite such addresses being furnished by some of the alleged encroachers, and because the absence of a statutory notification defining village boundaries complicated survey operations.
Revenue records cited in the order identify Kaggalipura, Agara and Bade Manavarthe Kaval as government grazing land. The government further noted that the National Green Tribunal has recognised Kaval areas as ecologically sensitive zones requiring protection.
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Officials said the survey found that the foundation’s compound wall enclosed 291 acres and 38 guntas, although only 60 acres had been leased by the government. Of the leased area, 41 acres of government grazing land granted in 1985 had a lease period that expired in 2015 without renewal, according to the government. Another 19 acres leased in 2003 remains valid until 2033.
The order alleged that the compound wall extends across a much larger area, including a government tank, streams, rocky kharab land and a public pathway. It also says a substantial portion of Survey Number 150, recorded as a tank, had been occupied.
The government said the investigation originated from a public interest litigation filed in 2023 by Chandrashekar N, Mahesha B and Muniraju S, who alleged that buildings had been constructed over a stormwater drain and that a lake had been encroached upon. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, office bearers of the Art of Living International Centre and Sumeru Global Support Solutions Private Limited were among the respondents in the case.
The high court, while disposing of the petition on September 9, 2025, directed the state revenue department, the Bengaluru urban deputy commissioner and the Bengaluru South tehsildar to proceed against encroachers in accordance with the law. The October 2025 survey was carried out pursuant to those directions.
