Karnataka - Mysore   

MUDA urged to clear the list of site aspirants

MYSORE: Taking exception to the de-notification of land by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), the citizens forum has decided to urge the authorities to clear the pending list of site aspirants and not invite new applications.

The site aspirants led by the Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM) also decided to stage a dharna in front of the MUDA office on Thursday and to place their demands before the MUDA Commissioner P. Manivannan.

At a meeting held here on Sunday, scores of site aspirants and members of the ACICM, discussed the de-notification of land identified by MUDA for creation of sites and called for an immediate end to the practice until the pending list of 1.65 lakh applications for sites was cleared.

Arun Kumar, advocate and member of the ACICM said MUDA will be urged to desist from inviting fresh applications until the backlog was cleared.

He added that they will also seek an end to the practice of de-notifying lands which had been identified for acquisition.

Mr. Kumar referred to the prevailing practice of land owners getting MUDA’s 4 (1) preliminary notification vacated, only to sell them to land developers and private players whose entry to the real estate market had not only hiked the site rates thereby making it difficult for common citizens to acquire a site.

“Hence the ACICM has urged the authorities not to issue a no objection certificate for change of land usage,” he said. Mr. Kumar said that this was imperative to clear the backlog of 1.65 lakh site applications for which MUDA required around 20,000 acres of land.

The citizens forum has also decided to take up the issue with the higher authorities in view of the perceived lack of redressal of their grievances. Governor Rameshwar Thakur has already been apprised of the issue. The ACICM had recently procured the State Government’s directives on de-notification of land which has taken a stern view on the issue.

The Government circular has made it clear that land once notified for acquisition cannot be de-notified. However, under Section 48 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act, the Government is at liberty to withdraw from acquisition of any land of which possession has not been taken.

But if possession of land has been taken following the procedure under the Act, the Government has no power to de-notify or withdraw from acquisition proceedings.

The clarification stemmed following complaints and repeated requests from officials seeking permission for de-notification of land after the process was completed.

The ACICM’s contention is that the de-notified land belongs to MUDA and is being sold to private developers thereby depriving common citizens a chance to own a site.

The attention of the Governor will also be drawn to the alleged de-notification of nearly 800 acres of land that was proposed to be acquired for creation of residential sites.

The details were acquired under the Right to Information Act. The ACICM claimed that records proved that the State Government had de-notified about 800 acres of land during September. The ACICM members argued that the de-notification would only benefit real estate sharks and private developers at the cost of common citizens who have been waiting in line since 1982.

The ACICM said that they had faith in Mr. Manivannan that he would redress their grievances.

The association also called for stringent norms for private developers to enter the real estate and construction market.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Emergency task force launched in Mysore
Training for self-employment
Accord priority to Kannada: Chandru
MUDA urged to clear the list of site aspirants
Classical language status for Kannada still an issue

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu