Legislature panel detects major structures on tank beds

Legislature panel detects major structures on tank beds

The Hindu

Houses and complexes have come up on 56 acres of land


Bangalore: Continuing its drive against encroachments on tank beds in Bangalore city and Bangalore Urban district, the legislature committee headed by A.T. Ramaswamy on Thursday detected a techpark, a number of houses, including flats and a slum, two colleges and several business complexes on 56 acres spread over Varthur, K.R. Puram and on Airport Road, worth nearly Rs. 500 crore.

Mr. Ramaswamy, who was accompanied by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) G.V. Srirama Reddy and Vishveshvara Hegde Kageri and P.S. Raghu (both BJP) and officers, including Special Deputy Commissioner Rame Gowda, told presspersons on Thursday that the committee would ask the State Government to immediately evict the encroachers. He also said that he would recommend stringent action, including criminal cases, against them and officers for their connivance.

A major detection during the inspection was the encroachment of 15.32 acres of land belonging to the Konena Agrahara Tank on Airport Road in Survey No. 60 and adjacent to Kids Kemp complex. There are three apartment complexes, a well-developed Sri Rama Nagari slum and an educational institution headed by a politician.

The institution had been built in 1962 on the front side and had a huge playground with some trees and there is no trace of the existence of a tank. A four-acre area out of the 20.1-acre tank bed had been handed over to the Forest Department and has been saved.

Apart from this plot, two other sites measuring 25 guntas in Survey No.101 and 25 guntas in Survey No.107 of Kodihalli on Airport Road had been encroached. They have been developed. Mr. Ramaswamy said that the value of these three pieces on Airport Road itself was around Rs. 300 crore.

The other encroachments detected by the committee members related to 39 acres by 206 persons and the committee put the value around Rs. 195 crore. A plot measuring 24 guntas in Survey no.141 in Kaggadasanapura utilised by six persons, 38 guntas in Survey no. 5 of Byrasandra tank bed by two people and 2.21 acres in Survey no.175 by 54 persons in Vibhutipura and 1.12 acres in nine survey numbers in Munnena Kolalu, where storm water drains had been encroached blocking the flow of flood water.

Mr. Ramaswamy said that Puravankara and Rohan Apartments had also come up on the 1.12 acres. He said that a techpark had encroached in Survey no. 112 of Byrasandra village in K.R.Puram taluk.

A petrol bunk had come up on a 16 guntas of land on the Amani Bellandur Kodi. Some four persons had appropriated 2.02 acres in Byrasandra tank bed in the area.

Seven acres of the old storm water drain in Varthur had been completely encroached. Mr. Ramaswamy and Mr. Rame Gowda admonished Basavaraju, revenue inspector, and the village accountant concerned for defying their orders by not completing the survey of the encroached land.

The committee detected construction of 132 houses, many of which were incomplete and without doors or locked in Valepura gomala near Varthur. They suspected that these had been built by benami people.

Mr. Ramaswamy regretted that many apartment complexes let sewage to the nearby Varthur or other tanks destroying the ground water in the entire area. The people had complained that the water contained minerals and was not potable.

The role of politicians could be seen in most encroachments.

He said that he was unhappy that a lot of innocent people had bought sites and built houses on these encroached plots and they would face eviction.

Mr. Rame Gowda said it was shocking that the encroachments were continuing in spite of operations by the committee since the last seven months.