Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) which usually hits the headlines for recovering encroached property and bulldozing illegal structures and fencing them, got a taste of its own medicine on Thursday evening.
Hundreds of people who invested their hard earned money on BDA-constructed flats at Valagerahalli in Kengeri are left in the lurch as apartments with over 300 flats have been cordoned off. The fencing has been done by the alleged land owner Chikka Revanna, who is the agreement holder.
Mr. Revanna and his supporters stated that the BDA authorities had made a road on his land without his consent. The fence, which was raised on Thursday evening, blocks the entry of at least 300 flat owners. However, the flats are yet to be occupied by the buyers.
The BDA has built one to three bedroom flats at Valagerahalli by investing over Rs 200 crore. The flats were already allotted to beneficiaries who filed applications. The flats were allotted on a first- come-first-served basis and lottery system in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The BDA had proposed to acquire land with survey numbers 92, 102, 105 and 107 of Valagerahalli in Kengeri, way back in 1994 for the formation of Jnanabharathi layout. Later, the BDA allegedly issued No Objection Certificate (NOC) to some land owners, stating that their land has not been acquired in the final notification. Some of the land owners are still waging a court battle, said G. Vincent, an RTI activist.
It is often believed that the sites and flats being sold by the BDA are free from any litigation. But, due to the negligence of authorities, gullible citizens would have to pay a heavy price. How could the BDA make such a mistake when they themselves are the planning authority and how could they build a road on private property, questioned another RTI activist B. M. Shivakumar.
Sources in the land acquisition wing of BDA admitted that the BDA had committed a grave mistake of building a road on private land. In such cases, the land owner is eligible for 50 per cent of the developed land out of the land acquired. But, he is asking for 100 per cent developed land, which cannot be considered as per the BDA Act, said sources.
However, the BDA engineer wing is holding talks with the land owner to convince him. BDA engineer member P. N. Nayak told Deccan Chronicle that the issue has been “resolved” and refused to divulge further information.
