A 32,000 sq.ft plot in Koramangala First Block that costs nearly Rs 40 crore, has been given away for a mere Rs 1.2 lakh by the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), which lost a series of court cases to end up in this sorry predicament.
The man, who has made all the moolah at the end of this legal mess is Mr B. Sridhar Murthy, 54 of Vijaynagar, who is reportedly a relative of a former chairman of the authority.
Having bought the 60x 530 plot in 1991 for Rs 1.2 lakh, Mr Murthy had the absolute sale deed made in his name only on August 1, 2014 after a long and tortuous court battle with the BDA that was keen on turning the plot into a playground instead.
But now that he has gained conrol of the land and sold it to a realtor, who is planning to construct an apartment complex and other commercial establishments on it, people of Koramangala have decided to join the battle and go to court to demand their civic amenity site back.
Says BDA commissioner Shyam Bhat, “The first sale deed for the land was made in 1991. The BDA sold the land to Mr Murthy, an industrialist, but subsequently cancelled the order and marked it as a civic amenity sit in its comprehensive development plan of 1995.
But he went to court . Later, the BDA allotted him another plot in Peenya, but still unhappy, he again moved the court, which quashed the BDA order. When Mr Murthy still didn’t get the land, he approached the court once again, and it imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the BDA.”
As the BDA failed to convince the court why it had cancelled its 1991 sale to Mr Murthy, all four orders went in his favour and against the authority. “We don’t want to take a chance by moving the court once more as we may be fined again. The mistake has happened,” adds Mr Bhat resignedly.
But unwilling to let go of the site, several residents of Koramangala First Block have decided to move the court, alleging that the BDA has deliberately let go of the land with a ‘hidden agenda’.
“Many of us are upset that the land meant for a park has been given away for commercial establishments and an apartment complex. When it is demarcated as a CA site in the CDP, why has the BDA done the registration?” demands one resident, Nitin Shesadri. The dispute then looks set to continue, although the BDA itself seems ready to wash its hands off the affair.
