Bengaluru: The Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) along with the United Bengaluru on Friday urged the government to release details on the recent recovery of 15,833 acres of encroached land. After the NBF filed a PIL In 2013, the High Court directed the state government to recover the encroached lands.
Mr Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO, NBF, said, “As per V. Balasubramanian’s report, 27,336 acres of government land has been encroached in BBMP limits. Of which, the government claims to have recovered only 15,833 acres. We don’t understand. Why is the government hesitating to recover its own land?”
A Joint Legislature Committee, chaired by Mr A.T. Ramaswamy, submitted a report to the government in 2007, stating that approximately 4,00,000 acres of government land had been encroached. Of this, 1,65,796 acres are forest land and 1,04,497 acres are in ecologically sensitive Western Ghats in three districts. The total worth of the encroached land was estimated to be Rs 2,00,000 crore.
Freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy said, “The government accepted the A.T. Ramaswamy report and slept over it all these years. In spite of court directions, the government has not taken any action on it.”
The report also observed that the land has been grabbed by powerful builders and land mafia with the active involvement of government and its officials.
Mr Suresh N.R., convener, United Bengaluru, said that the encroached land belongs to the public and not to any individual or the government. “The government is only a trustee of public assets and money. Many reports have been submitted to the government on this issue, but all these reports are safely hidden in their cupboards. The government should be accountable for the public land,” he said.
