BENGALURU: Even as Diwali celebrations continue, there is serious concern within the government about the functioning of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has held meetings with BDA officers and civic planners, and there are indications that the government may consider taking up several long-pending issues for approval in a meeting scheduled for Monday.
The most pressing issue is the registration of absolute sale deeds. BDA sites are generally allotted on a 10-year lease, after which allottees must submit records and register an absolute sale deed. The authority has identified more than 15,000 allottees who have not adhered to the procedure even after their lease periods expired.
The government has been mulling a special Mela, with experts suggesting that the BDA could take steps to register the deeds after inviting applications as stipulated by the law. Observers are wondering whether the government will back this with the required approvals, and whether the Mela will actually be held on schedule.
There have also been repeated requests from many poor and needy people for a chance to regularise “unauthorised” residential properties, especially on the land acquired by the BDA. Section 38(D) of the BDA Act, brought in through a May 2020 notification, covers habitable houses built before 10 July 2008 on acquired land. Will the department consider it is the big question.
Under the rules, there are charges which are applicable, and they do not include land on lakebeds, stormwater drains, road alignments or land under high-tension powerlines. There is concern that this has to be taken up within a particular timeframe, otherwise the BDA can legitimately begin action for the removal of unauthorised occupation. Whether the government will soften that warning is a point being closely watched.
There have been concerns about projects such as the peripheral ring road connectivity and connectivity between the tunnels between high-density traffic intersections, such as Mekhri Circle and Hebbal. The CM is expected to decide on all these issues in a meeting on Monday. When contacted, BDA officials were tightlipped about all these concerns and said they were waiting for the meeting to take place.
