BENGALURU: It was in June 2006 that MN Rajanna, former Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Intelligence Department, was awarded a BDA site under the ex-servicemen quota. It is May 2024 and his 40 x 60 sq ft site at Byrathikhane in Arkavathy 18th Block is yet to be handed over to him. He is now 80 and keeps frequenting the BDA office for his rightful due.
The upright officer, who secured the President of India Gold Medal for his services, has spent the last decade meeting countless officers requesting for his site.
Rajanna, who resides with his wife in Bengaluru, told TNIE, “I was allotted Site No. 140 on June 24, 2006, and paid the full sum of Rs 4.53 lakh for it too. I got a letter out of the blue on October 23, 2014, from BDA stating that since the dimensions of my site exceeded the conventional 40x60 sq ft site, I had to pay an additional Rs 5.71 lakh. I was shocked but managed to arrange a loan for it.”
The BDA then awarded him a Lease-cum-Sale Deed (temporary ownership certificate) on December 19, 2014. “I also got the khata, the Possession Certificate, and the No Objection Certificate from various sections but I was never given the Absolute Sale Deed. I kept paying an annual property tax of Rs 5,830 annually till 2022.”
The present market value of that site is around Rs 85 lakh.
During one of his visits to the BDA office in 2018 for his Absolute Sale Deed, Rajanna was told by officers of Bengaluru North to opt for an alternative site in any other BDA Layout. “Three staffers told me that they had received oral instructions to convey it to me.
They were issued show cause notices by the then Commissioner for misleading me,” Rajanna added. Later, Arkavathy Layout was changed and as per the new Common Dimensional Report in 2018, Site No. 132 in Arkavathy was listed as my property.
“Its dimensions were less, only 40x57 sq ft, but I was okay with it. However, the approval file was sent to the Town Planning Department for their consent which was unnecessary and this delayed it by three months.”
The High Court had set up the Justice Keshava Narayana Committee to take care of problems of Arkavathy Layout allottees. “I approached this committee which issued an order on October 20,2023, allotting Site No.105 for me. The BDA was instructed to hand it over to me within 15 days. Six months down the line, this too has not been done.” BDA commisioner N Jayaram said that he will check into the matter.