A bare perusal of the text of the Bangalore Development Authority’s decision of rejecting claim for Transferable Developmental Rights (TDR) certificates made by some slum dwellers, who lost their sites 40 years ago, gives an impression that “it is texted with the mindset of a draftsman of East India Company of the bygone era and not by the one whose heart is in the right place.,” said the High Court of Karnataka.
“A few reasons amongst others that are assigned for denying relief to the petitioners are ridiculous, not to state more,” the court observed while directing the BDA to issue TDR certificates in favour of 137 petitioners within three months.
The BDA will have to pay a cost of ₹1,000 per day per petitioner if it failed to issue TDR certificates within three months as the petitioners were compelled to knock the court’s doors for the third time, the court said.
Justice Krishna S. Dixit passed the order while allowing the petitions filed by Jayamma and 136 others, who had questioned BDA’s March 17, 2022, decision of rejecting the recommendations made by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to issue TDR certificates to the petitioners in lieu of utilising their lands for public purposes.
The petitioners, who were living in a slum on government land in Marenahalli village, were asked to vacate the land in 1976 as the government wanted that land for public purposes and they were offered sites on different survey number in the same village.
Though the government allotted sites to them in 1979-80, issued Hakku Patra (title deeds) and possession certificates by collecting offset price at the rate of ₹2 per square yard from them, they were not given physical possession of these sites due to dispute over the land. After failing to get land for decades, the petitioners, through their association, requested for TDR based on the title deeds issued to them.
Citizens whose property has been made use of for a public purpose sans a formal acquisition process can be justifiably treated on a higher pedestal qua those whose property is taken by due process of acquisition, whilst treating the claim for grant of TDR certificates, the court said.
The court termed as “untenable” the suspicion expressed by the BDA, without any expert opinion, on the genuineness of Hakku Patras and possession certificates to claim that the difference in quality of papers used for these documents raises doubts on their authenticity, the BDA”s claim over genuineness of their documents is ridiculous when the BBMP has taken specific stand that petitioners were given Hakku Patras, the court pointed out.
