18 years after notification, BDA
finally allots sites in Karanth layout

Bengaluru: For landowners who have waited for nearly two decades amidst prolonged litigation, acquisition proceedings and uncertainty over compensation, the commencement of site allotment in Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout marks a major milestone.No one thought that the project, first notified in 2008, would ever see the light of the day until the Supreme Court intervened in 2018. It gathered momentum after the bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna formed a committee in December 2020, first to regularise houses and buildings constructed prior to August 3, 2018 and subsequently tasked three-member team to supervise the formation of the layout.The committee was headed by Justice A V Chandrashekar and members included former BDA commissioner Jayakar Jerome and former state police chief S T Ramesh.Over the next three years, the committee played a key role coordinating among the Supreme Court, the BDA, landowners and other stakeholders. It also ensured land acquisition, which often leads to project’s failure, moved smoothly while taking the difficult decision of rejecting regularisation claims that did not meet the guidelines. That ensured the BDA did not commit the same mistakes it did while executing Nadaprabhu Kempegowda layout or the Arkavathi layout.By December 2022, the BDA began the formation of the layout by splitting civil works among nine construction firms.At the programme where BDA handed over site allotment letters to landowners, CM D K Shivakumar noted that the formation of new layouts is not easy. “The land acquisition matters had gone through proceedings before both the single-judge and division benches of the High Court before reaching the Supreme Court. Following directions from courts and government orders, the BDA could complete land acquisition and development of the layout,” he said.“This is a good layout, and it may not be possible to develop another such layout in the future,” Shivakumar said.Notably, the BDA did not acknowledge the role of SC-monitored committee when the sites were allotted to the land owners on Monday.For landowners, many of whom have waited since their properties were notified for acquisition in 2008, the allotment of developed sites in return finally comes as a major relief.M Devaraj, a landowner from Kalathammanahalli, said he parted with about 32 guntas for the project. “In return, I have got six developed sites whose worth now is as almost as high as the land we parted with. I had to wait for several years but it is worth it,” he said, thanking the BDA for allotting the sites without a long delay.Nagesh, a farmer from Ramagondanahalli, was happy that the BDA handed over the site allotment letters finally. “I had parted with an acre and five guntas of land. Now, the BDA has allotted eight sites. Six of them are south-facing. I have requested them to provide east or north-facing sites,” he said.

Source: Deccan Herald