Land denotification: Breather for Jagadish Shettar

The High Court on Friday extended its earlier order not to precipitate the matter in connection with the denotification of land at Srigandha Kaval in the City by former chief minister Jagadish Shettar.

Hearing a petition by Shettar challenging the notice issued to him by the Bangalore Metrpolitan Task Force (BMTF), Justice R B Budhihal extended the earlier order not to precipitate the matter till the State government submitted relevant documents pertaining to the denotification.

Shettar was facing allegations of denotifying the land measuring four acres, granted to the Vokkaligara Sangha earlier, and sanctioning the same to a third party in 2013, when he was chief minister.

The Sangha had complained to the BMTF which had issued a notice to Shettar.
‘Don’t dispossess owners’

The High Court on Friday directed the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) not to dispossess owners of their land at Malathahalli in Bangalore North district, but proceed in accordance with its original plan to form Visvesvaraya Layout.

The petitioners, Subbalakshmamma and others, had moved the High Court challenging the acquisition of their one acre and eleven guntas of land at Malathahalli by the BDA.

The petitioners contended that though the BDA was notified to acquire four acres and eleven guntas to form Visvesvaraya 9th Block in December 2009, it, however, had acquired just three acres, excluding one acre and eleven guntas. The BDA initiated the process to acquire the land which was earlier excluded from acquisition.

Stating that some BDA officials were responsible for this, the petitioners submitted that in a bid to acquire their land, the BDA had demolished the fence and temporary structures on their property. They accused the officials of colluding with the land mafia to grab their property.

Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh, who heard the matter in his interim directions, directed the BDA not to dispossess the owners of the said property.