 V. Shankar with other officers at Pattandur Agrahara in Whitefield during an inpection1.jpg "Benagluru demolitions: 3.23 acre property with villas recovered")
BENGALURU: In an unprecedented move, the Deputy Commissioner (Urban) recovered 3.23 acres of land which houses five duplex villas and one of the two towers with 50 flats at Pattandur Agrahara in Whitefield on Monday. The recovered property is worth nearly Rs 1,500 crore.
After a hue and cry by the victims of demolition that only houses of the poor and helpless are being targeted, the urban department authorities seem to be taking on the bigwigs.
The project, executed by Prestige Group, had come up on a piece of land – B kharab (government waste) land – allotted for industrial purposes. The land was allotted to Joy Ice Cream Pvt Ltd by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board in 1965. Till 1986, the land was being used for industrial purpose, sources said.
As it is a violation of rules to carry out residential activities on an industrial plot, the urban authorities seized the property, which includes the villas and 4.5 lakh sqft of built up area. The government is yet to take a decision on demolishing the buildings.
A piece of land where an engineering college was run too was seized for violation of rules. The authorities also recovered government land worth Rs 42.5 crore at Natageri, Machenahalli and Kanakapura Main Road.
