A public outreach programme held on Tuesday by the Justice A. V. Chandrashekar Committee on the proposed Shivaram Karanth Layout became a platform for farmers and property owners from 17 villages, who may lose land to the Layout, to question the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA).
They raised several objections, key among them were displacement of developed villages to form a layout for housing; delay in executing the project; “inadequate compensation” as per 2008 land rates; and asking revenue site owners to pay for alternate sites.
M. Ramesh, a farmer from Ramagondanahalli, submitted documents showing that State government had issued final notification for acquisition of lands in 2018 as per The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition (Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Act, 2013. However, the BDA was now offering them compensation as per 2008 rates.
G. Shivaprakash, a farmer, said the compensation did not account for the trees in his land, multiple tubewells he had drilled and the loss of livelihood.
Justice Chandrasekhar, who said he had adjudicated several land acquisition cases himself, advised all land losers to file an appeal against BDA on the grounds that compensation was not adequate.
Rakesh, a farmer from Vaderahalli, questioned the objectives of BDA forming the Layout. “How fair is it to demolish thousands of houses of farmers and the poor to provide for housing for the upper middle class in our villages?” he asked.
The Supreme Court recently ordered that those who have bought revenue sites in these villages will be given priority for sites in the newly developed Layout. K. R. Sudarshan, an ex-serviceman said he invested his life’s savings of nearly ₹20 lakh to buy a plot which will now be acquired. “The Supreme Court has said we will get preference for a site in the new layout BDA develops, but we need to pay BDA rates - which is over ₹40 lakh. How can I afford that?” he said.
BDA Commissioner Rajesh Gowda was not available for comment.
Justice Chandrashekar appeals to property owners to apply by Sept. 9
The Supreme Court-appointed Justice A.V. Chandrashekar Committee formed to ratify legal developments in the proposed Dr. Shivaram Karanth Layout appealed to property owners not to pay heed to misinformation campaigns. He urged owners to apply before the committee by September 9 to get developments before August 2018 ratified, and save their properties from demolition at a public outreach programme at Somashetty Halli on Tuesday.
“The Supreme Court order is very clear: any development post August 3, 2018 when the final notification for the layout was issued, will be demolished. Some people have misguided you saying once you build, it will not be demolished. We are seeing buildings coming up even today. All of them will be demolished,” Justice Chandrashekar said.
