Illegal layout: Upa Lokayukta seeks info on officials

Taking a serious view of the formation of illegal layout on the Venkatarayana Kere tank bed in Gubbalala village near Uttarahalli by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi has directed the BDA to furnish the names of the surveyor and the land acquisition officer who worked in 2002. 

He has also directed the deputy commissioner of Bangalore Urban district to furnish the name of tahsildar of Bangalore South during 2002, whose negligence resulted in the formation of a layout on the tank bed. Notices have also been served on the secretary to Urban Development Department, BDA commissioner, senior land acquisition officer, deputy secretary of BDA and the Bangalore south tahsildar asking them to attend the hearing on November 6.

“The BDA has incurred expenditure in developing the layout in the tank bed area without verifying the revenue records. It is necessary to initiate proceedings against the then officials concerned,” the Upa Lokayukta said in the order.Critical of BDA reply

Justice Adi was also very critical about the BDA Commissioner Sham Bhatt's stand that the tank bed had lost the characteristic of lake. In his written reply to the Upa Lokayukta, Bhatt had stated that the land is shown as tank bed but it has lost the characteristic of a tank.

To support his contention, Bhatt had even referred to the dictionary meaning of lake, which is “a large land locked, naturally-occurring stretch of water”.

“Hence, the survey number 8 (Venkatarayana Kere in Gubbalala village) was not a lake. Earlier, it might have been a tank bed, but it has lost the characteristic of the same and as a result, it did not remain as tank bed or water tank. Tank bed means an open pool for storing water. The action taken by the BDA was in good faith and sites have been formed and thereafter, the allottees have been permitted to construct houses accordingly,” Bhatt had stated.

The BDA commissioner had also expressed his inability to demolish the existing buildings on the land in question, or to cancel the allotment already made.

Contrary to HC direction

In view of the reply, Justice Adi noted, “The stand taken by the BDA that the tank bed has lost the characteristic of the lake is surprising and it goes contrary to the direction of the High Court. The BDA being a statutory authority, instead of abiding by the directions of the High Court as well as the Government Order is now acting contrarily.”