The Times of India 11.11.2010
BDA's demolition drive sends panic waves
BANGALORE: 5am, Wednesday. Over 15 families on 4th main, 6th A cross, OMBR Layout, woke up to a rude shock. The demolition operation by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to recover its 2 acre-2 gunta-land on survey number 27 had these families panicking. Worse, they didn't know whom to approach for help __ the BDA or BBMP. For, while the then BMP collected tax, the BDA said the area came under their jurisdiction.
The operation began on the small sheds on vacant sites and suddenly abandoned by noon. But residents, who are mostly senior citizens, fear the worst. The contradicting replies by the officials there also increased their fears. Even their corporator Kodanda Reddy who was on the spot could do nothing.
An aged Suresh Kumar, who was shocked, was trying to recover from his loss. The small shed he built in 2002 on his 80 feet x 60 feet site was gone. And with it, even his dreams of finally building a house. "He had no money before. We had just received the plan sanction from the BBMP and were to begin construction work by this week. But now, BDA says it's their property. They have asked us to approach the court,'' his relative explained. They now hope to at least save his house on another plot built in the same problem zone.
Low finances forced the families to invest on these revenue sites. But little did they realize that even valid documents of the sites from the original land owner could land them in trouble.
FINDING ANSWERS
"We don't know what will happen. I cannot build another house now nor ask my children for help,'' reacted a worried V S Thandavamurthy (66). He had invested all his savings on this house here. His question: "How can the BDA say it is theirs? When I purchased this site in 1992, the middleman assured us that it was a revenue site __ out of the BDA limits __ and that, it can be registered `pucca'. After registration, we also applied for the loan,'' he explained opening his bulky file to show all the documents carefully preserved over the years.
This included a CMC khata, khata extract, plan sanction by then village panchayat, encumbrance certificate and receipts proving the regular property tax payments to the BBMP till the present block period. But even that was not easy. "Till 1997, BBMP did not accept tax from us saying it was under BDA. But in '98, we suddenly got a BMP notice asking us to pay tax since 1995, when the house was completed,'' he added.
In 1995, following a newspaper report, he had also applied for regularization of the land. But the Supreme Court order that stayed the proposal later rendered this useless.
On rough estimates, there are at least 15 houses and eight vacant sites on this survey number. Majority of the property owners are senior citizens who invested all their savings on the houses. Interestingly, their original land owner Anjaneya Reddy is also one among them. But, just as the demolition started, he was missing.
However, TOI got in the local MLA K J George to intervene and halt the demolition `for now'. Not happy with this temporary relief, the residents want to seal this issue with the BDA commissioner and their MLA.
"They should listen to us at least now. We can't lead our retired life in fear for no fault of ours,'' said B Raja Reddy who bought a house here three years back.
