The Hindu 14.12.2013
Officials clear illegal layouts near T.G. Halli
Nearly 4.5 acres of encroached government land valued at
Rs. 35 crore has been recovered in the catchment area of the T.G. Halli
reservoir, an important water source for Bangalore.
The operation was carried out on Friday by officials from the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore Urban district.
The
land had been encroached by private builders, who formed layouts and
sold the sites, an official charged. The builders were allegedly hand in
glove with village panchayat officials and had managed to get panchayat
approvals for laying roads, providing drinking water, drainage,
electricity connection and streetlights by fabricating documents. “This
was to attract prospective clients [by claiming that] the layouts were
approved by the authorities,” the official added. They had even
reportedly applied for a licence for boating and liquor licences.
The
Revenue Department had issued several show-cause notices to the
builders, but they continued to sell the sites in the layouts — most
bearing grand names such as Lakeview Paradise, Jala Shringar Villas and
Jala Tarangini Extension to attract buyers — officials said. Villas,
commercial establishments and houses had been built on the disputed
land, several of which were owned by non-resident Indians.
Finally
on Friday, the team led by Bangalore South tahsildar B.R. Dayanand
visited the river bank in Channenahalli and Wattigana Hatti villages,
demolished the structures and recovered the land.
Occupants
of the houses reportedly requested officials to give them time to move
out. Layout owners tried to delay the demolition by claiming they had a
stay order, but officials went on with it as no copy of the court order
was produced.
“We have sent a detailed report about
the illegal encroachments and nexus between builders and village
panchayat officials to the Deputy Commissioner,” Mr. Dayanand said.
