Middlemen target vacant site-owners

Middlemen target vacant site-owners
They say they will get such sites reconveyed Charge Rs 20,000 per site from land-owners
Jan 17 meet to sort out problem
UNSCRUPULOUS ACT
Vijay Times

Bangalore: Unscrupulous middlemen are cashing in on the Arkavathi Layout project by collecting money from gullible people by giving false assurance that vacant sites will be reconveyed.

A resident of an illegal layout within the project area said that some of the developers, who had for med layouts prior to the project taking off, were now collecting money from those who had vacant sites.

The High Court, while giving the green signal to the project, had categorically stated that vacant sites could be acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority for the formation of the mega project. Thimappa Rai, resident of the area, said that there was confusion in the minds of the persons with vacant sites.

They are not sure whether their sites had already been acquired for the project. This was being taken advantage of by the unscr upulous elements,he added. Some land sharks had assured such persons that they could get their sites reconveyed from the BDA for a sum of Rs 20,000 each.

Rai said that a meeting of the siteowners and developers had been fixed on Sunday in this regard.

Legal position

Legal experts in the BDA says that they are aware of these developments and warn such persons from falling into this trap. Vacant sites will surely be acquired for the project. Their remedy will only be to seek another site in a different layout or claim compensation. "People should not be fooled."

None authorised

A recent verdict of the Supreme Court clearly states: " Once a site is notified for acquisition, no person, including the Chief Minister of the state, has the power to reconvey the same. Even the BDA, which has acquired the land, cannot reconvey the same."