BENGALURU: In an unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court has asked the Justice A V Chandrasekhar Committee (JCC) to take over supervision of the upcoming Dr K Shivaram Karanth Layout. This will be the first layout of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), since its inception in 1976, to be monitored in this fashion.
An order to this effect was issued by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice S Abdul Nazeer on Tuesday, during a hearing of ‘BDA versus State of Karnataka and Others’ case. “We request the Justice A V Chandrashekar Committee to supervise the formation of the Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout,” the court said.
The BDA has formed 64 layouts across the city so far, and used to run the show on its own. According to a BDA source, “The SC is aware of the countless problems, slow pace and incomplete works in both Arkavathy Layout and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout. It does not want a similar fate to befall Karanth Layout and must have decided to intervene.”
Another source said the move is mainly intended to ensure that work on Karanth Layout, which will be BDA’s second biggest layout, is speeded up as the JCC has a reputation for efficiency. A total of 25,000 sites are being planned on 2,250 acres of land acquired in 17 villages between Doddaballapur and Hessarghatta so far.
This marks the second time the court is coming to the rescue of the layout. Karanth Layout was proposed in 2008 but was shelved in 2015 after the High Court cancelled the layout formation, as many land owners filed cases against acquisition of their land. The BDA appealed against the verdict in the Supreme Court which then ruled in BDA’s favour in August 2018, and ordered the formation of the layout.
Apart from Justice A V Chandrasekhar, former BDA Commissioner Jayakar Jerome and retired DGP S T Ramesh constitute the committee, with a handpicked team of retired government officers with a clean reputation.