The Hindu 27.12.2010
140 site owners in Visvesvaraya Layout of BDA left in the lurch
Sudipto Mondal
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The land was allotted to economically weaker sections in 1973 |
Site owners have Sale Deed, Possession Certificate, Khata
Hut owners produce High Court order of 2008 in their favour
— Photo: K. Murali Kumar
IN DISPUTE:A few beneficiaries from economically weaker sections of
society have built houses at BDA Visvesvaraya Layout in Bangalore.
BANGALORE: In 2008, Mahesh Murthy (55) paid Rs. 36 lakh to purchase a
60 x 40 site in the Bangalore Development Authority Visvesvaraya Layout
near Nagarbhavi here. To his horror, he found that somebody else had
built a hut on his land when he visited the spot a few days ago.
The person who built the hut told Mr. Murthy that the plot had been
allotted to him by the Union Government in 1973 under a scheme for
economically weaker sections of society.
“I purchased the site in the belief that a BDA site will be a safe
investment, and look at my plight now,” said Mr. Murthy, who raised the
money through a bank loan.
Mr. Murthy’s is not an isolated case. As many as 140 people, who have
all the relevant documents to the land provided by the BDA such as Sale
Deed, Possession Certificate, tax receipts and Khata, find themselves
in the same situation. Some of these persons were allotted the plots
directly by the BDA a few years ago, whereas others like Mr. Murthy,
bought them from the original allottees.
The entire area is now dotted with temporary shelters and hutments.
Speaking on behalf of those who have built these structures, Anjanappa
(36) produced a High Court order of October 17, 2008 and said that the
court had ruled in their favour. He said that the BDA acquired the land
in 2003 forcibly and demolished their houses to form the new layout.
The BDA, on the other hand, appears to be clueless and its officials
are sifting through reams of documents in an attempt to establish the
title claims.
On Friday, both parties showed documents to The Hindu at the layout
contesting each others’ claim. It soon turned into a shouting match
between the two groups.
Tempers cooled down when someone said, “Why are we fighting? It is the BDA which has landed us in this situation.”
Further investigation revealed that the BDA has been making several
attempts to break the deadlock. On Thursday, a group of BDA officials
even visited the spot along with the local police. But they beat a hasty
retreat when both parties began quarrelling and TV crews landed on the
spot.
RTI activist B.M. Shivakumar blamed the BDA and alleged that the officials knew about it long ago.
“When the site owners started approaching the BDA to get their house
construction plans approved, the officials started giving them all sorts
of excuses,” he said. He also alleged that the people who have built
the hutments and the BDA officials are part of the conspiracy.
Meanwhile, BDA Commissioner Bharatlal Meena said that he will not be
in a position to comment until the legal section of the BDA submits a
report. “They are verifying both the claims,” he said.
