HC backs residents’ rights over civic amenities in housing projects

Here is good news for residents of group housing and private layouts. The sites earmarked for the civic amenities (CA) in your area will have to be developed by the developer who has to hand them over to the registered residents’ welfare association (RWA) for the upkeep. Not just that, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has to ensure that the CA sites are handed over to the RWAs for maintenance after being developed as per the approved plan.

Though the BDA has the right over the site after the developer relinquishes it, it cannot demand any lease or other charges from the developer or the RWA while handing over the CA site to the RWA for maintenance.

Two verdicts

The Karnataka High Court has given these findings in this regard in its two separate verdicts on the litigations, in which the BDA’s action of asking the developers and the RWAs to pay huge rents to lease CA sites in certain group housing projects and layout was questioned.

These projects were the Golden Blossom group housing project of Golden Gate Properties Ltd, and Sobha Althea and Azalea, Sobha Adamus and Amethyst, Sobha Chrysanthemum, and Sobha Ruby and Ruby Platinum group housing projects and Sobha Lotus layout project of Sobha Developers Ltd. in different parts of Bangalore.

The court said that the Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2015, which came into force in June 2007 for Bangalore city, states that the areas set apart as CA sites, open space and parks in residential projects will have to be relinquished in favour of the planning authority, i.e., the BDA.

The court pointed out that RMP makes it mandatory for the developer to create the civic amenities on the sites earmarked for that purpose and the BDA has the obligation to hand over civic amenities to the RWAs for maintenance.

Can’t charge

However, it said, the BDA cannot demand lease rent — either one time or annually — deposit or surcharge from the developers and the RWAs for seeking approval to develop the CA sites and their subsequent upkeep.

The provision to relinquish CA sites, open space and parks in favour of the BDA has been ensured in the RMP so that the sites are used for the intended purpose and are not disposed of for profit.

The court also said that the RWAs could also seek to maintain parks and open spaces in the neighbourhoods.