HC tells BDA to clamp down on land grabbers

HC tells BDA to clamp down on land grabbers

Officials would be held personally liable if there is discrepancies in site allotment.
Deccan Herald

The Karnataka High Court has pulled up officials of Bangalore Development Authority for allowing illegal constructions and formation of layouts in the outskirts of the City and has observed that demolition of unauthorised construction with police support cannot be described as an act of bravery.

“Unauthorised layouts, buildings, and diversion of agricultural lands would not have been possible in the outskirts so blatantly without the connivance and active cooperation of the officials who are under obligation under various statutes to prevent such illegal acts”, the Court noticed.

Justice N Kumar made these observations in his recent judgement on the petitions filed by persons whose lands were acquired by the BDA for the formation of “Sir M Visvesvaraya Layout”.

On noticing that the BDA had taken steps to demolish various buildings (built legally and illegally) falling within the areas notified for the formation of the layout, Justice Kumar said the government and the BDA have an obligation of protecting and improving housing facility for its citizens rather than using all its might to damage or destroy houses.

“Illegal constructions should be nipped in the bud instead of waiting till the completion of huge structures at high costs and then pull it down in public gaze”. “In a country like ours, it is neither wise nor proper to waste huge amount of materials, labour and time in such acts of demolition very often. Therefore, it is time the Authority opens its eyes to the harmful effects of its action and fixes responsibility on officials who under relevant statutes are vested with powers and duty to prevent such illegal acts”, the Court said.

Serious action

Justice Kumar also warned that officials concerned would be held personally liable if it comes to the notice of the court that persons who are entitled to allotment of sites are denied sites and persons who are not entitled are granted sites.
The experience gained by the officials should lead the Authority to prompt action in the future to avoid repetition of a similar situation so that there could be an orderly development of the City. Land grabbers should be kept at bay and innocent people should not be lured into such helpless situations, he said.