BENGALURU: A recent High Court order has questioned the authority of KAS cadre officers to take the final decision when it comes to hearing of appeals under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act. This has come as a blow to the BMRCL, which is looking at winding up the land acquisition for its Airport Line project. While it has completed acquiring 87% of the land for the project, a specific parcel of land is stuck as it awaits a final call by the special deputy commissioner, a KAS officer.
The court order states that KAS officers working as special DCs should not dispose of matters under Section 136 (3) of Land Revenue Act. The court has opined that only the IAS cadre has the power to perform this role and has put the matter on hold. The land in question is 20,235 sqm (5 acres) required for the Shettygere depot that will be constructed near the Trumpet of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The depot, to be used for stabling and maintenance purposes, forms a part of the 38.44- km Phase 2B line from KR Puram to Kempegowda line.
The Rs 10,584 crore-line has a deadline of September 2025. Madhumati Shantaraj has staked claim to this portion of government land and wants compensation for it as she insists her family had legally purchased it. A reliable source said, “Shantaraj says it was purchased by her husband in 1974 from one Shyla Hegde, who in turn had purchased it from a person who was allegedly granted the piece of land by the state government.” There are allegedly no records in the Tahsildar office to prove that this piece of land was granted by the government to any individual.
The matter was pending before the special DC for months and a solution was expected, the source added. The recent court ruling is set to delay the acquisition process further. The official added that of the 3,13,357 sqm of land required, only 2,91,470 sqm had been acquired and handed over to the engineering department to carry out works. The contract is still in the process of being finalised.