Arkavathi was okayed in a hurry: Govt

Arkavathi was okayed in a hurry: Govt
Deccan Herald

The State government on Tuesday claimed before the Karnataka High Court that former chief minister S M Krishna had permitted the Bangalore Development Authority to go ahead with the Arkavathi Layout project without obtaining the Cabinet approval as there was urgency to prevent unorganised growth of Bangalore City.

State Advocate General B T Parthasarathy made this submission before the division bench comprising Chief Justice Nauvdip Kumar Sodhi and Justice N Kumar, which is hearing the appeals filed by the State and the BDA against single bench’s order of quashing the project.

The single bench had criticised the former chief minister’s action for according sanction to the project in a “hurried manner” without securing Cabinet’s approval. “The former chief minister had taken such a decision as election to the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly was contemplated during that period and had described the action as a colourable exercise of power,” the single bench had observed.

When the judges asked Mr Parthasarathy what was the urgency before the former chief minister to permit the BDA to go ahead with the project, he said that there was long pending demand from the people for sites, besides the Government was duty-bound to develop the City in an organised manner.

Earlier, the counsel for the BDA argued that the authority has the jurisdiction to take up developmental activities in the metropolitan area and the single bench was wrong in holding that BDA has no jurisdiction. The arguments will continue on October 5.