140 site owners in Visvesvaraya Layout of BDA left in the lurch

Monday, 27 December 2010 01:13 administrator
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The Hindu        27.12.2010

140 site owners in Visvesvaraya Layout of BDA left in the lurch

Sudipto Mondal
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.