BENGALURU: Out of the 4,970 allottees of Phase II of Bangalore Development Authority’s Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda Layout, none suffered the disappointment of HR Lakshmi. When her family members visited the 30 ftx40 ft site allotted after her fourth attempt for a site, they were shocked to find a family residing in a modest house on their plot in Bheemanakuppe village, off Mysuru Road.
Adding to their agony were the residents of the house in Block Six stating they would never leave their house as they have lived there for two decades.
This round of allotment by BDA faced numerous issues with multiple allottees given the same site number due to a technical error, sites located near stormwater drains that violate buffer zones specified by the National Green Tribunal, nearly 50 sites facing graveyards and individuals allotted sites under litigation.
Sharing his disappointment with The New Indian Express, Lakshmi’s husband S Venkatesh said, “It felt great to get a site after three failed attempts. But a spot visit shocked us. Ours was the only site out of nearly 1,000 sites allotted by BDA in this Block where a house already exists,” he said.
A three-roomed house that resembles a shed had been built by a servant of one of the farmers who sold the land to BDA, Venkatesh said.
“The house owner there says he had raised his two daughters in that house and has been there for 20 years. One daughter has been married off while the other is employed now. He was willing to permit one room where he has a cowshed to be demolished by BDA as it was required to create some infrastructure for the layout,” Venkatesh recalled.
“We have already paid Rs 2.9 lakh as initial deposit for our site and are keen on paying the remaining amount of nearly Rs 20 lakh. However, we do not want any property that comes with problems inbuilt in it,” he added.
When Lakshmi’s family raised the issue with the BDA Engineer at Vijayanagar, Srinivas, he coolly told them to wait for two more months claiming that a child in that family was preparing for her exams and they would be asked to leave after that.
Venkatesh charged, “This is not factual at all. There is no student in that house. It is just some excuse.” Despite many calls and messages, top BDA officials did not respond.