Almost 15 years after issuing the preliminary notification, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will finally commence allotment of sites in Dr. K. Shivaram Karanth Layout, thanks to the Supreme Court-monitored committee.
At a press meet at the BDA office on Friday, the Justice A.V. Chandrashekar committee said the BDA would soon start allotment of sites and plots and they would be given first to those who had voluntarily surrendered land for the formation of the layout.
Mr. Chandrashekar, a retired judge, said the BDA issued the preliminary notification for acquiring 3,546.12 acres of land in 17 villages for the layout on December 30, 2008, which was challenged by some landowners in the High Court (HC). The HC, after hearing the petition, quashed the notification. Later, the BDA filed an appeal, but the HC rejected it.
The BDA then filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the HC order, following which the SC set aside the HC orders and directed the BDA to issue the final notification. The SC, while passing the verdict in 2018, stated that the preliminary notification was legally sound. The BDA later issued the final notification, said Mr. Chandrashekar.
He further said when the BDA commenced the process of formation of the layout, it found the presence of thousands of buildings, including homes, institutions, and high-rise structures. The BDA again approached the SC, filing an application to seek guidance as to what could be done. The Division Bench of the SC formed a three-member committee headed by Mr. Chandrashekar on December 3, 2020.
The SC directed the committee to study the legalities of the buildings built in these villages. “The committee had set up helpdesks in four villages to collect information from the owners. About 99% of the buildings were found to be illegally built. The committee submitted a report to the SC suggesting to regularise these buildings. The SC regularised the buildings built before August 3, 2018. Of the 7,724 applications received for regularisation structures, 5,171 buildings have been regularised. Thirteen layouts, 11 institutions (schools, colleges, health facilities, and others) and one high-rise building approved by the BDA have been regularised. The BDA has also issued regularisation certificates to the owners. The SC has directed the BDA to collect the betterment tax from the owners,” said Mr. Chandrashekar.
Under the government scheme, the landowners who surrendered the land voluntarily under the 40:60 scheme would be allotted BDA-developed sites first and later, revenue site owners would be given the sites. After that, allotment would be done for the general public. The BDA would fix the rates.
According to the BDA, currently, the formation of 34,000 sites in the layout is under way, including 4,500 corner sites. Of these, numbering has commenced for 29,000 sites. The BDA has completed road and drain works and started the marking of sites.
