BDA allots space meant for park to club, LPG godown

BDA allots space meant for park to club, LPG godown
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: For residents of ITI Society layout in Kathriguppe, it has been a decade long struggle to save the lung space in their locality.

Despite former mayor G Narayana, ex- MP V S Krishna Iyer and MLC B K Chandrashekhar leading the cause, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has allotted the land reserved for parks to a club, a school and for LPG cylinder godown.

What is more, the LPG warehouse is next to the school and the two floors of the school building have no plan sanction. Illegal buildings have come up in rest of the park space and neither BMP nor the BDA have bothered to act.

In 1963, ITI Employees’ Society formed a residential layout on 17.16 acres of land in Kathriguppe and the Society gave 3 acres and 15 guntas for civic amenities on four plots. The revised CDP 2011 earmarked these sites for parks and open spaces.

But in 1995, BDA gave away 1350 square metres of parkland to Preetha Harikrishna, wife of IPS officer late Harikrishna, who was killed during Veerappan operations, to start an LPG godown.

In 1996, a complete park was given to J P Nagar Institute for running a club with bar. And in 1998, a school was allotted the rest of the park area where the LPG godown was allotted. All these allotments are in clear contravention of BDA Act.

The Act stipulates that no construction should be allowed in parks. Meanwhile, the other two parks have been encroached and RCC buildings are being built with no plan approval.

Following representation by Vidyapeetha Welfare Association, the government annulled allotment to J P Nagar Institute but no action has been taken by BDA. The club continues to exist and the school children are exposed to the danger of LPG godown, said a senior resident N Srinivas Murthy.