A government school teacher who has battled land sharks should be the toast of the town. Still, very few people know 54-year-old Savithramma, despite her saving 80 acres of government school land in Bengaluru North Taluk from being encroached. She shies away from the limelight, in part because her job is a dangerous one – she has received threats to her own life and that of her family, for taking on a corrupt, powerful nexus. Over 12 lakh acres of government land have been encroached in Karnataka and even government –appointed committees have been unable to retrieve it. Despite all odds, Savithramma continued, taking blows to her career, dealing with punishment transfers and threats. Ramesh S. Kebbehundi reports
Taking on the real estate mafia, protecting school land from encroachers - sounds like a job for Superman. A most unlikely superhero stands behind this brave, some might argue foolhardy initiative- 54 year old Savithramma, the headmistress of Government HPS in Sanjivininagar area. On Friday, she received the Mathe Savithribai Phule State Best Teacher Award from the government of Karnataka - not just for her pedagogical talents but also for showing courage in the face of great adversity, despite the many hits to her career her rebellion caused.
Savithramma has managed to save 8.5 acres of government school land, which had been encroached by land grabbers at Bettahalasur village in Bengaluru’s north taluk. That apart, she has also been instrumental in bringing dropouts back to school, increasing enrollment in government schools, initiating computer classes and bringing CSR activity to these institutions.
Google her name and the results are surprisingly few. Savithramma’s battle for justice has been fraught with dangers, including death threats and harm to her family.
“Despite threats to my life and that of my family members, I continued to fight for the protection of government land. I didn’t bother ab out being transferred. Even today, my life is under threat and I shun publicity for my work for safety reasons,” she says.
Protecting government school land, or any land, for that matter, from encroachers, fighting powerful land grabbers who have the support of some of the society’s most powerful can be daunting. More so for public servants like Savithramma. And especially in a place like Bengaluru, with land prices going through the roof.
Savithramma managed to save land worth about Rs 80 crore from encroachers. School land donated by philanthropists and donors, provided for the construction of schools and educational institutions, as well as government-owned land, are easy targets for land grabbers. The Department of Public Instruction has received hundreds of cases in this regard, due to a delay in registration of government school properties.
In Bengaluru rural, the government owns large tracts of land like ‘gomal’, ‘gunduthopu’, tank-beds and sites reserved for parks and civic amenties. These lands have been encroached upon widely, and illegal buildings constructed due to an unholy nexus of corrupt officials, politicians and land grabbers. A Joint Legislature committee headed by former legislator A.T. Ramaswamy submitted a report to the government which showed over 12 lakh acres of government land has been encroached in the state.
A task force constituted to recover this land, under the chairmanship of then senior IAS officer V. Balasubramanian could not recover more than 50,000 acres of this encroached land, bound as they were by administrative constraints. The state government continues to dilly-dally, even today.
Savithramma noticed this but unlike most, chose to act. She wanted to protect the school children under her charge. She began her work after she was transferred to Bettahalasur village in Bengaluru north taluk in 2014-15 as headmistress of Government Higher Primary School. There, 8.5 acres of land was facing the threat of encroachment. She sought help from senior officials of the education department and approached the local court.
She made some powerful enemies, who ensured that she was transferred to another school within a year of taking charge at Bettahalasur. Like all honest offices, who are troubled if they dare to speak up, Savithramma faced the wrath of a corrupt nexus. Still, she stood like a rock, using the support of the department and the local School Development Monitoring Committee.
Her speedy transfer took her to Chikkajala village in Bengaluru urban district. She found similar problems here. Again, she took a stand and took the case to court. The case is still pending at Devanahalli Local Court.
Hailing from Gopaladevarahalli village in Tumkur district, Savithramma joined service in 1985. She is married to a retired police officer and they have a son.
Apart from her battle against corruption, Savithramma is an expert singer and an avid reader, too. And those who understand her work are all praise for the brave woman: “Apart from her contributions towards protecting government school land, she has also worked to improve enrolment into government schools,” says Kamalakar, BEO, Bengaluru North Taluk. “She introduced computer classes for the c hildren in Sanjivinagar HPS and used CSR funds to develop the infrastructure. Today, the school has 250 students between classes one and seven.”
She has won a number of awards, including the Best Teacher Award at the district level in 2015, the Kengal Hanumanthaiah award and numerous others from people-friendly organisations that recognise her efforts. Modest and measured with her words, she says, “I thank my department officials, colleagues, students and SDMC members as well as my family for standing behind me,” she said, also thanking the state government. “The award has increased my responsibility towards transforming the lives of government students, most of whom are underprivileged,” she says.
