Some residents of Bengaluru city have recently been witness to a shocking and apathetic use of State powers. Many of them have had sections of their houses demolished by the municipal authorities for encroachment.
While this may seem like good disciplinary action against citizens making illegal extensions to their homes, the ground realities are quite startling.
A large number of the law-abiding home owners had sought permissions and clearances before building their homes or making extensions. These plans were cleared by the authorities. What’s rattling is the volte face. The government for any citizen is one. The individual occupying a position of power is relevant only in the context of the position she/he occupies. To therefore punish a citizen for the fault of a government office is hardly fair. Many of the officials responsible for having incorrectly approved the plans are now in the dock. But what of the citizen home owner?
The follies and misdeeds of government employees should result in them being penalised. What’s happening, however, is that hapless citizens are suffering because two arms of the same government don’t see eye to eye. The arm of the government taking corrective action may well be in the right, but how is the citizen in the wrong? If the government must have the encroached land back to ensure that things are restored to their earlier status, the citizens too have a right to seek complete compensation for their losses. Should the government pay for it, or the erring government employees, is for the government to decide.
One way to address the entire issue and root out corruption is to make the plans and approval process completely transparent, so that no one remains in doubt as to what is legal and what not. If every citizen is aware of where their land ends and where public land begins, they can be made responsible for any encroachment. In the absence of this, and with a system that reeks of corruption, such brazen action is unwarranted.
To be fair, it is quite possible that many home owners may be complicit in the government employee’s misdeeds.
Some unscrupulous home owners greasing palms for some extra square feet isn’t unthinkable. But painting everyone with the same brush is hardly just.
The lesson from all this is to be doubly sure about the boundaries of your home. For if you slack on this and err, there might come a day when you suddenly find a section of your home’s been torn down. Be prudent, stay safe.
Former Editor, Outlook Business and Executive Editor, NDTV Profit, the writer is a personal finance expert. Mail him at propertyplus@thehindu.co.in
