Encroachers eye CA sites

While lakes are mixed with sewage water turning them as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and choked with water hyacinth, civic amenity sites are occupied by government offices leaving little space for children to play. On the other hand, there are no takers for Thurahalli Hill National Park Project, which is spread across several acres.

Praise showered

The vision and development of Kengeri Satellite Town had come for much praise from the residents of the town. But today, there are no CA sites to sustain the development.
“The township was created with a vision to house 10,000 people. But with the greater growth of population the CA sites have been used to accommodate more people,” said Shivakumar, a resident of the township.

Parks and playgrounds have been encroached upon by the authorities to set up their offices. A BWSSB office, a Primary Healthcare Centre and an overhead water tank have come up on one of the few existing parks in Kengeri Satellite Town. Meanwhile, KEB and the Silk Board have their offices in rented space, for lack of own accommodation. “Even the government hospital has been set up inside the park due to lack of space,”
complained the locals.

Residents said the few CA sites were being allotted by authorities to other institutions. In one such case, the government had granted the local playground adjacent to the First Grade PU College to a religious institution, Basaveshwara Samaj Samiti. While the land was declared as a playground for the children by the BDA, it was overruled by the government and was allotted to the religious outfit.

Info under RTI

“However, under the RTI Act we applied for the documents and complained to the Governor about the inappropriate allocation of the site,” recalled Shivkumar. Finally, the government withdrew the notification and asked the BDA to allot the Basaveshwara Samaj Samiti an alternative piece of land.

With practically no space, even the First Grade PU College in Kengeri Satellite Town is being proposed to be shifted to Ullalu. Many revenue pockets in the area like Kengeri, Ullalu, Kodihalli and Dodda Bidarekallu seek proper development of CA sites.
A distant dream

Thurahalli Hill on the eastern side of the constituency was a forest reserved for the creation of a national park. Nearly 36 acres of this land was awarded to the BDA and the A T Ramaswamy Committee had recognised the land as to be developed. However, following a complaint lodged by the Forest Department, it was given back to them. The Forest Department had laid claim to the land on the basis that the then Maharaja of Mysore had awarded the same land to the Forest Department. However, no initiative has been taken so far to develop the hill, as per the plan.