The Hindu 23.11.2010
Denotification: Government sets up panel
Sharath S. Srivatsa
It will be headed by an Additional Chief Secretary
Governments have denotified large areas of BDA land
BANGALORE: In the wake of the allegations over reckless denotification of prime land around Bangalore surfacing in the last few weeks, the State Government has set up a committee headed by an Additional Chief Secretary to look into denotification of land coming under Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) limits.
The decision to set up the committee has been taken in the light of controversy surrounding the de-notification of BDA land in the recent weeks, and the notification in this effect was issued on October 29 itself, an official in the Urban Development Department, told The Hindu.
Worth of land
In recent years, the successive governments, including that of the BJP led by B.S. Yeddyurappa, have denotified over 1,000 acres of prime land notified by BDA around Bangalore city, which is estimated to worth several thousand crores of rupees.
Powers
“The Chief Minister, who was the competent authority to issue the final denotification order, continues to enjoy the same powers under the new system. The only departure from the existing system for denotification of the BDA land is that it has to pass through the committee before reaching the Chief Minister,” the official pointed out.
The committee, chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary, will have principal secretaries of Law, and Urban Development Department besides the BDA Commissioner, deputy commissioners of Bangalore Urban and Rural districts.
The Urban Development Department Deputy Secretary will be the member-secretary of the committee
Applications
According to another Urban Development Department official, the department has so far not received or cleared any parcel of land for denotification since the panel was set up on October 29.
“It is also very unlikely that lands would be denotified in the near future in the light of political developments surrounding denotification,” the official said and added that the department receives applications regularly for denotification of land in BDA limits though all may not be considered.
“Once an application is received, we will seek a report from the BDA. No time frame has been set for the committee to decide on the applications before recommending it to the chief minister's office,” the official said.
