The district administration has issued notices to building owners in parts of HRBR Layout, developed by Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), asking them to submit property documents for verification.
As many as 222 sites formed by the BDA in HRBR Layout have been found to be developed on Banaswadi lake-bed and have now been termed illegal by the district administration, which is conducting a demolition drive to clear the lake-bed of encroachments.
So far, the administration has desisted from demolishing buildings that have come up on these sites.
Confirming the issue of notices, Bengaluru East division tahasildar Harish Naik said the administration would also be sending a report to the government seeking the next course of action.
“The layout formed by the BDA is illegal and we are ready to demolish the structures and recover the lake-bed area. But, the government has to take a final decision,” a senior official said. The documents provided by property owners would be scrutinised, he added. Senior officials in the BDA, however, claimed that the layout was formed with due legal process.
“The BDA acquired the area through government notification after the government deleted the area as lake. We will clarify to the district administration in this regard,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the demolition of illegal structures on Banaswadi lake-bed area, which started on Saturday, continued on Sunday. Several multi-storeyed commercial structures were razed to the ground on the second day.
Some residents have approached the tahsildar asking for alternative residence, at least. “We are checking with the slum board if they have anything which can be provided as alternative homes so we can demolish the encroachments,” Mr. Naik said.
District administration says 222 BDA sites in HRBR Layout were developed on Banaswadi lake-bed area
