Govt. plans to close Government Flying Training School at Jakkur to develop club for MLAs, MPs, officials: BJP

Leader of Opposition R. Ashok on Tuesday alleged in the Legislative Assembly that the ruling Congress government is planning to shut down Bengaluru’s only Government Flying Training School (GFTS) at Jakkur to develop an exclusive club for MPs, legislators, and senior bureaucrats.

Participating in a debate on Bengaluru’s development, he claimed that a senior IAS officer had proposed the idea of converting the GFTS land into an executive club in consultation with a developer from Rajasthan. He further alleged that such a move could pave the way for real estate interests to construct high-rise buildings in the area.

Mr. Ashok noted that the aviation training school was established on 214 acres of land in Jakkur in 1950, originally granted by the erstwhile Mysore rulers, with the foundation stone laid by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He added that a similar proposal during an earlier Congress regime had been scrapped by the BJP government but was now being revived, with discussions reportedly under way to shift the school to Mysuru.

During the discussion, Energy Minister K.J. George said he had written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suggesting that the GFTS land could instead be used to develop a major sports complex, similar to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Mr. Ashok also cited past remarks by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who had earlier opposed the idea of using the GFTS land for an executive club.