Demolitions on hold, Karnataka High Court turns heat on BDA
The court directed officials to furnish drawings, sketches and survey records of the properties
Bengaluru: Putting the brakes at least temporarily on the ongoing demolition drive of structures built on the Banaswadi lake bed, the Karnataka high court on Tuesday ordered officials not to precipitate matters till Thursday and furnish details of the properties slated for demolition. This has come as a respite for owners of houses facing demolition.
The court directed officials to furnish drawings, sketches and survey records of the properties. Justice Anand Byrareddy passed the order while hearing a batch of petitions filed by M. Balachandran and others contending the tahsildar is not empowered to issue notice or initiate action under the Land Revenue Act, 1964. They claimed they had been discriminated against as buildings on BDA sites have not been demolished.
The court made stinging observations saying BDA had encroached on many lakes and developed sites and it was a mistake not to conduct a property survey before developing them. “The mistake is first committed, later the process of removing encroachments is undertaken,” the court remarked. The petitioners contended that they have khata certificates and have been paying taxes regularly.
HDK: Bureaucrats, ministers behind BDA layout grab
He was Commissioner of BDA and BBMP. Yet Mr Siddaiah got a site in a layout formed by BDA, by encroaching on Linganakere in BTM layout. His neighbours include former Ministers Mr C.M. Udasi, Ms Shobha Karandlaje, a host of IAS officers and even a Karnataka High Court judge totaling 407.
Revealing these facts to mediapersons, JD(S) President Mr H D Kumaraswamy said the government had issued notices to these people also and wondered if the government can take merciless action it initiated against innocent victims at other lake beds, against these high profile people too. I am not asking the government to demolish these houses. Nor am I talking in favour of encroachers. While the government action is harming innocent purchasers, it is not doing anything to track land sharks and bureaucrats, who fudged documents and sold the sites to innocent people.”
Mr Kumaraswamy asked the government to suspend the demolition work till the House Committee headed by Mr K.B. Koliwad, looking into lake encroachment submits a report regarding the issue. He said he would urge the Committee Chairman to write a letter to the Chief Minister to temporarily suspend the demolition. He also urged the government to convene an emergency session to debate the subject.
Giving details of Linganakere, where the upmarket Dollars Colony was formed in 1995, Mr Kumaraswamy said it was true that the BDA had acquired the land way back in 1983. However, following Laxman Rao committee report on Bengaluru lakes, which stated that there were 46 dead and 81 live lakes in Bengaluru and over 262 water bodies in and around Bengaluru, the government stalled formation of the layout. Besides, a government order was also issued in this regard, asking BDA not to go ahead with the layout.
However, in 1997, officials fudged documents and went ahead with forming the layout distributing sites through BDA itself, Mr Kumaraswamy said. He said he was the first to rake up the issue in the Assembly and a House Committee under Mr K.B. Koliwad was looking into lake encroachment. There are many places where BDA has acquired the lake by violating rules and formed the layout, which is also an encroachment.
