Time for some action

Time for some action
By: B V Shiva Shankar
Date: 2008-08-28

Bangalore:



On Slippery Ground: Purvankara group's luxury apartment and Vydehi hospital (right) constructed on encroached land may soon be evicted
The district administration has finally issued orders to evict bigwigs like Puruvankara, MP Adikeshavulu from the land they have encroached.

MiD DAY had reported on August 19 that the district administration had evicted farmers from land they were cultivating without permission while letting off rich and influential land grabbers.

"We have gone through the MiD DAY report," said N Shanthappa, special deputy commissioner, Bangalore urban district. "Based on the report I have issued orders to assistant north and south districts to evict the encroachers."

Orders issued

He said he had issued the order on Tuesday, and given a week's time to the ACs to come back to him with reports of the action taken.

"We will assess the encroachment before initiating the eviction process," said Shanthappa. "And we will demolish the buildings on the land if we feel it necessary."

The government has taken back land from farmers and the poor from in and around the city based on the A T Ramaswamy committee guidelines and part of the land is kept for auction.

But the authorities were silent about politically powerful developers and builders who have helped themselves generously to government land.



Return our land: CPIM members protest against land auctioning yesterday pics/Satish Badiger
The encroachers

While the Puravankara Group has built a sprawling apartment complex on the land encroached near HAL airport, Oxford Eductaion Society has set up a dental college on Hosur Road.

MP and liquor baron D K Adikeshavulu has built a hospital near ITPL after encroaching more than three acres.

Now, with the special DC's orders, these huge structures are facing a threat of demolition.

"We welcome the government's orders," said K Prakash, secretary, Bangalore district committee, CPIM, who is fighting against the auctioning of government land. " But, they should not stop at this. The orders must result in eviction in a true sense."

But, the encroachers seem unfazed. "We have not received any notice," said S Narasa Raju, chairman, Oxford Educational Society. " And we are not scared of government action as we have not done anything wrong. Let them prove the encroachment and then take back the land."

The court has meanwhile stayed the auctioning of 55 acres of government land scheduled for yesterday. The district administration had planned to auction the land taken back from the farmers.

The court issued the stay order as there were a slew of petitions against the auctioning. The district administration cancelled the auction as the left parties staged a protest against the auctioning in front of DC's office.

However, the government is going ahead with the next auction plan. "We are going to auction 47 acres on 29 Aug as there is no stay for that," said Shanthappa. "The bidders are responding well and I hope all goes well."