The High Court of Karnataka on Saturday ordered issue of notice to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on a PIL petition. The petition alleges that land measuring 31,600 sq ft, which was reserved for “park” at SBI Colony in Koramangala, was illegally allotted to the son of a former BDA chairperson for Rs.1.2 lakh. The beneficiary sold the land to a private builder for Rs. 18 crore.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B.V. Nagarathna passed the order on the petition filed by Ranjal Raghuram Shenoy and 11 other residents of the colony, which was formed along with Industrial Layout, Koramangala.
The petitioners claimed that the site bearing No. 5A in the layout was reserved for a park in the comprehensive development plan (CDP) of 1984. It was shown as a “park” in the sale deeds executed for people who purchased adjacent residential sites from the then City Improvement Trust Board in the mid-70s.
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However, in 1985, the BDA allotted this site through a lease-cum-sale deed to B. Sreedhar Murthy, who is the son of Basavaiah (deceased), a former chairman of the BDA, the petitioners claimed. They pointed out that this site was shown as civic amenities and open space in the CDP 1995.
HC notice on plea against allotment of ‘park’ to the son of a former BDA chairperson, who sold it to a builder for Rs. 18 crore