BDA asks land owners not to worry

BDA asks land owners not to worry
The Times of India

Bangalore: Properties in Arkavathy Layout which existed before the issuance of preliminary notification for land acquisition will not be acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) unless they come in the way of civic works.
The BDA has completed hearing the land owners who had approached the court objecting to acquisition of their properties. The authorities will also decide on expunging lands from the notification as directed by the high court. The court had asked BDA to take a decision after reviewing them on case-to-case basis.

Sources in the government told The Times of India that unless properties are situated bang on the proposed roads, park areas or CA sites, they will not be touched. “We will strictly go by the high court directions and not acquire properties that were in existence before the issuance of preliminary notification during February 2003. We cannot help but demolish them if they come in the way of civic works. However, properties that have sprung up after the notification will certainly be tackled,’’ officials explained.

Of the 2,750 acres of land notified for developing the Arkavathy Layout, nearly 748 acres are still under litigation. The court had directed BDA to hear the land owners and revenue site owners and take a decision. The process involves three stages: case-to-case basis hearing, recording the objections and spot inspections of the disputed properties.

To carry out the job, a team of five officials from land acquisition, engineering and task force departments have been appointed to conduct the mahjars.

The BDA has completed hearing 556 land owners and has recorded their objections. The team has completed inspecting 8 of 16 villages falling under Arkavathy Layout.

There are 1,424 land owners, the majority of whom are revenue site owners, seeking exclusion of lands from the acquisition proceedings on the grounds that their lands have been either situated in green belt area, totally built up, or are properties where buildings are constructed by charitable, educational or religious institutions, nursery lands or industries.

Currently, the BDA is hearing revenue site owners. Since the case is still being heard in the Supreme Court, the BDA will complete the entire hearing process before April for the final verdict.

Options for BDA and the owners
* Owners can file applications for allotment of sites only by paying the registration fee. The BDA, on its part, will treat them as applicants and allot 30 ft X 40 ft site in Arkavathy Layout or in any other nearby layouts in Bangalore for the prevailing allotment prices. * Petitioners seeking allotment of sites will have to fulfil two requirements under the Act — that they must be residents of Bangalore for the last 10 years and should not be owning any residential property. * Till the exercise is completed by BDA, applications filed by the petitioners, the existing constructions cannot be demolished.
Only after considering the applications, if the lands are not denotified, then BDA can proceed with the acquisition.